The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle

Most so-called comic novels these days barely raise a smirk. Enter Neil Blackmore to show us all how it's done with his hugely entertaining romp through 18th-century Europe. The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle is a novel for which the word "rollicking" might have been invented ... From the start, Benjamin's voice is a delight ... Blackmore draws clear parallels between the social and financial disparities of the 18th century and today ... The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle is the kind of novel that a reader can sink into, delighting in the merriment of the prose and the eccentricity of the protagonists. But it's not just played for laughs: it's also an insightful study into a period of history often overlooked in fiction. -- John Boyne * Irish Times *
Seductive, decadent, cruel and utterly thrilling - just like Horace Lavelle himself. This is The Talented Mr Ripley for the twenty-first century. * Emma Flint, author of 'Little Deaths' *
An original and spirited novel. * The Times *
I gorged myself with wicked glee on Horace Lavelle, and his scandalous joyride through society. Thrillingly cruel, heartbreakingly tender and altogether exhilarating; don't believe a word Lavelle says but relish every one of them. * Zoe Gilbert, author of 'Folk' *
Wildly entertaining and painfully heartbreaking ... a surprisingly timeless journey of self-discovery and the queer experience. Neil Blackmore writes with a fizzy wit that bounds his characters off the page and yet a gentle tenderness that may break your heart. * Ben Aldridge *