Review: The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue

Author: Mackenzi Lee

Genre: YA Historical

Rating: 3.5 / 5

A glowing review sparked my interest in this book so I was determined to find it. I’m not normally a huge reader of YA but I couldn’t resist the French history. I really enjoyed this wild romp in the 1700’s. I expected something dry l but was pleasantly surprised. It is very tastefully done.

Henry Montague was born into money and power. His father expects him to take over the family estate and get married. But this is the worst possible future for Monty, not least because he would be under his father’s eye. He is a privileged ‘asshole’ (author’s own words) who doesn’t care a lot for anyone except his best friend, Percy. We follow Monty as he goes on his Grand Tour of Europe and gets caught up in some adventures on the way.

The Verdict

The dialogue is witty and humorous and there are lot of little comments about the marginalised people in society at that time which carry through to the present day. It deals with some big themes but it is written in a light-hearted way, so that this book would make a great holiday read.

It is a heart-warming story which captures the bisexual ‘rotter’ Monty’s voice perfectly. We learn more about his fraught close relationships and self-destructive behaviours. Through the course of the novel, he becomes more self-aware, dealing with unrequited love and the fact of his own privilege.

The one thing that took me out of the story was the style. It is entirely written in 1st person in the present tense. The pacing in the first half is quite slow but once I got to the second half, I was reading through the night to see what happened next. My favorite character was Monty’s sister, Felicity, who struggled with the expectations and limitations society inflicted on an unmarried woman.

I have never read a historical quite like it. There is now a sequel out, called the Ladies Guide to Petticoats and Piracy. It is from Felicity’s point of view. The rights have now been optioned by Berlanti Productions. So we might see it on our screens some time soon. Looking forward to it.

Read it if you like the humour of PG Wodehouse, the history of Connie Willis.