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    The Gentleman
    The Gentleman
    The Gentleman
    Audiobook7 hours

    The Gentleman

    Written by Forrest Leo

    Narrated by Samuel Roukin and John Keating

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    A funny, fantastically entertaining debut novel, in the spirit of Wodehouse and Monty Python, about a famous poet who inadvertently sells his wife to the devil-then recruits a band of adventurers to rescue her. When Lionel Savage, a popular poet in Victorian London, learns from his butler that they're broke, he marries the beautiful Vivien Lancaster for her money, only to find that his muse has abandoned him. Distraught and contemplating suicide, Savage accidentally conjures the Devil-the polite "Gentleman" of the title-who appears at one of the society parties Savage abhors. The two hit it off: the Devil talks about his home, where he employs Dante as a gardener; Savage lends him a volume of Tennyson. But when the party's over and Vivien has disappeared, the poet concludes in horror that he must have inadvertently sold his wife to the dark lord. Newly in love with Vivian, Savage plans a rescue mission to Hell that includes Simmons, the butler; Tompkins, the bookseller; Ashley Lancaster, swashbuckling Buddhist; Will Kensington, inventor of a flying machine; and Savage's spirited kid sister, Lizzie, freshly booted from boarding school for a "dalliance." Throughout, his cousin's quibbling footnotes to the text push the story into comedy nirvana. Lionel and his friends encounter trapdoors, duels, anarchist-fearing bobbies, the social pressure of not knowing enough about art history, and the poisonous wit of his poetical archenemy. Fresh, action-packed and very, very funny, The Gentleman is a giddy farce that recalls the masterful confections of P.G. Wodehouse and Herge's beautifully detailed Tintin adventures.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateAug 16, 2016
    ISBN9781501940866
    The Gentleman

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    Reviews for The Gentleman

    4/5

    75 ratings11 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This was the most amusing book I have read in a very long time. I highly recommend the audio version, which is exceedingly droll.

      The Gentleman is the kind of Victorian pastiche that usually gives me gas, but it won me over with its wit and charm. It's a shaggy dog story in which a band of adventurers come together for an adventure that never quite happens. I admit to being somewhat disappointed in that regard, but not enough to drop a star.

      I hope that there will be a sequel.
    • 2/5
      I appreciated the voice acting but the story falls short of being entertaining. Highfalutin.
    • 5/5
      An utterly delightful farce featuring a Jeeves and Wooster-like duo. Lionel Savage is a popular Victorian poet who marries for money. But from the day of his nuptials, Lionel loses the ability to write a decent poem. He blames it on his wife and desires nothing more than to be released from his vows. Simmons is the stolid and inscrutable butler who knows more than he shows. Lionel’s self-delusions of grandeur are reality-checked for the reader in the editor’s wry footnotes. The titular Gentleman is the Devil himself! - whose visit to Lionel sets off a hilarious series of misunderstandings, adventures, and new relationships. Great fun and crackling dialogue. For fans of PG Wodehouse who also like Christopher Moore.
    • 4/5
      Footnotes!

      Absolutely ridiculous in the best possible way. A bit Christopher Moore, a bit Mark Gatiss and all thoroughly enjoyable.
    • 4/5
      An utterly delightful romp with almost no level of seriousness to it whatsoever, recommended for anyone who likes Victoriana and silliness.
    • 3/5
      Popular Victorian poet, Lionel Savage, mistakenly sells his wife to the devil (aka "the gentleman.") While Savage maintains he doesn't love his wife, he joins in trying to rescue her and in the process realizes he loved her all along. Funny at times and dripping with Victorian wit, this reader found it too precious and self-conscious. Not bad, just meh.
    • 4/5
      This book was surprise. The protagonist is a poet with writer's block who does not love his wife. One night the devil shows up to talk to him. Lionel accidentally sells his wife to the devil. The rest of the book is a quest to get her back. This is a humorous book in the way of _Importance of being Ernest_. It also alludes to Dante. The journey he takes with his brother-in-law and sister and butler is wonderful! This is a light read with lots of Victorian humor.
    • 5/5
      A very creative book about a man meeting the devil. This portrayal is a kinder gentler devil who is in fact a "gentleman". He seems like a nice guy who is not out to steal peoples' souls. In fact, he says he has too many souls already. In a conversation Lionel Savage mentions to the devil that his wife is causing him trouble and just like that she comes up missing. At that point, the search is on and Lionel is willing to go to hell to find his wife. The book is written in a Victorian manner and I found it one of the most unique and entertaining novels that I have read in some time.
    • 5/5
      A very entertaining novel of derring do involving a kidnapping, the Devil and a disparate band of rescuers!Great fun and highly recommended.I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Penguin Press via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.
    • 4/5
      What a clever book! It’s been a while since I’ve read a book this smart and enjoyable to read. The Gentleman by Forrest Leo is fun and funny. Lionel Savage, a poet, has squandered his fortune on books and goes shopping for a rich wife. He finds one in Vivien Lancaster and while the courtship is fine, the marriage is less than enjoyable and Lionel can no longer pen the poems he once wrote. Lionel blames this “writer’s block” on Vivien and one night finds what he thinks is the answer. The Devil visits Lionel to thank him for being so kind earlier in the day when he’s berated on the street. The Devil is surprisingly unassuming and expresses his desire to have a friend. Lionel loans the Dev’l (his name for the man) a book and when he departs, Vivien disappears. Lionel believes he has sold his wife to the Dev’l. Thus, follow wonderful chapters that include Simmons, the brutally honest butler, Lizzie, Lionel’s delightful and rather sexually progressive sister, Ashley, Vivien’s larger-than-life explorer brother, and Will Kensington, the eccentric inventor of a flying machine. When Lionel decides he loves his wife and has made a mistake in selling her, this madcap group goes on a rescue adventure. The Gentleman is a departure from my usual read and a good flight of fancy.
    • 4/5
      If I was just to give you a synopsis of the plot you probably wouldn't pick this one up to read. But if you do decide to give this one a try be prepared for one of the silliest and funniest books of the year. Madcap British humor at its best set in Victorian England complete with footnotes and illustrations! Fans of Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, and Christopher Fowler should put this on their list.