Ah, the Grand Tour of Europe—that most exciting part of coming of age for any young Victorian gentleman. Monty’s Grand Tour, however, gets a bit too exciting in The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee—a queer YA historical novel that my friends have been ranting and raving to me about for well over a year. Apparently, July is the month for me to finally catch up on all the great reads from the last few years that I somehow missed. I actually met Mackenzi Lee back in 2015 at the Brooklyn Book Festival and reviewed her debut novel, This Monstrous Thing. And yet I still managed to be the last one to hop on the Gentleman’s Guide bandwagon. Oh well, better late than never!
Henry “Monty” Montague is an unrepentant rake. Even after getting expelled from Eton and harshly chastised by his father, Monty is determined to treat his grand tour as one last big party before he is forced to settle down. But being assigned a stodgy chaperone and having his little sister Felicity in tow does put a bit of a damper on things. And then there’s Percy—Monty’s best friend since childhood, who has recently begun to mean somewhat more to him. So, Monty does what he always does when confronted with feelings or difficult topics—he drinks and he parties and he gets into trouble. This time, though, trouble comes in the form of dangerous dukes, alchemical secrets, highwaymen, pirates, and a deadly race to reach the fabled panacea hidden on a sinking island.
One element that really caught my attention was this book’s take on alchemy. Instead of centering on the most familiar aspects of this occult “science,” like the philosopher’s stone and the pursuit of wealth and immortality, the alchemy in Gentleman’s Guide revolves around the search for a panacea—a substance that can cure any illness. This focus allows Mackenzi Lee to explore the Victorians’ changing beliefs around illness and disability. Percy has epilepsy and is met with a variety of reactions to his condition. Most of his family is stuck in the medieval mindset that his fits are a sign of demonic possession and something to hide away in shame. Felicity, on the other hand, views epilepsy as a medical condition that is just starting to be understood by the emerging field of modern medicine. Monty struggles with the idea that Percy’s epilepsy is an aspect of his friend that he needs to accept rather than an obstacle to be overcome. Meanwhile, their explorations into alchemy teach them that there is no magical cure to their problems—or at least not one that comes without a great price.
The best part of the book, in my opinion, was the witty dialogue—particularly Monty’s lines. Like Oscar Wilde (who I’m sure he was at least in part inspired by), Monty is always ready with a biting retort or sly innuendo. Also like Wilde, unfortunately, Monty has a tendency to choose the clever comeback over caution and tact. Most of the gang’s more dangerous adventures are brought about by Monty running his mouth when he ought to have kept it shut. As the narrator, Monty’s witty voice bleeds into the narration, as well, leading to memorable one-liners such as “Fortune favors the flirtatious” and “Perspective is a goddamn son of a bitch.” For all his cleverness with words however, Monty sure has a difficult time communicating. Much of his character growth in the book involves learning how to say kind and compassionate words instead of just clever ones.
Both The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue and its more recent sequel The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy can be found on shelves at your local retailer. You can also purchase Gentleman’s Guide online and support The Gothic Library in the process by clicking on this Bookshop.org affiliate link. If you’ve read the book or are planning to, let me know what you think in the comments!