Thumbs up for The Gentleman by Forrest Leo. Fantasy/historical fiction/humor.
Lionel Savage—a young poet straight from the pages of Wodehouse or Jerome K. Jerome—discovers that he loves his wife. Unfortunately, this happens only after she is stolen by the Devil. Usually I expect this sort of thing to quickly grow tedious, but The Gentleman was consistently funny from start to finish. Highly recommended if you need a laugh.
‘I’ve always wanted to fight a duel!’ I say. ‘Never thought I’d get the chance!’ As a boy I engaged in magical duels with rival magicians I concocted out of dreams and dust motes, but I have never actually duelled a real person. I always half-supposed that sooner or later Pendergast or I would say something truly dreadful to one another and a duel would be required, but I never seriously considered it. It was more the sort of happy sleepy thought that brings a smile to one’s face as one drifts off at night. The closest we ever came to an altercation was at Lady Whicher’s dinner party when I threw his review into the fire and he responded by throwing my most recent book in after it. I tried to challenge him on the spot, but a piece of ham was lodged in my throat.
Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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