Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Built from the bottom up: one perfect gentleman.

Man about town Arthur Lawton spends his days pursuing entertainment while shoeshine Joe Sprat labors to better his family’s lives. When an argument about nature versus nurture sparks a wager, Arthur swears to a friend he can turn this working man into a gentleman who will pass at a society function. 

Joe is happy to participate in the experiment for a fee but receives more than he bargained for after moving into Lawton’s house. Arthur is determined Joe won’t merely wear a veneer of sophistication but educates him in every way. As he creates his new and improved man, Arthur grows more deeply infatuated with him, while Joe falls equally hard for his charismatic mentor.

Underneath a growing friendship, desire simmers and one day explodes. After their relationship escalates, the pair exists in a dream bubble until the threat of exposure sharply reminds them they belong in different worlds. When the ball is over, each must resume his own life, changed by their encounter but destined for different courses. 

Find out if love is strong enough to bridge the gap between peer and pauper in this twist on the tale of My Fair Lady.

Book Review

A “twist on the tale of My Fair Lady” sounded like a promising proposition for a historical tale, set in the London of 1909. The description of this new take on one of my favorite tropes caught my attention from the first. On one side, there is Arthur: he is a peer who desperately tries to stave off the boredom of someone who does not need to work, spends his days pretending he is looking for a wife, his afternoons exercising, and his evenings attending a cultural or social event of some kind. On the other side, there is Joe: he is a hard-working pauper who hopes to one day have enough money saved so he can start his own shoe polishing business rather than having to defend “his” street corner against interlopers. With the scene set for Arthur’s “experiment” of trying to turn Joe into a gentleman, I dove into this story with great anticipation.

Arthur’s basic curiosity and the radical thought he puts to one of his friends that “There’s more to the world than our little corner. Have you no interest in new ideas?” set him apart from his peers. Arthur realizes he is different, and his curiosity toward people who live different lives (like bohemians, business people, or even servants) meets nothing but disdain from the men in his circle of high society. So he sets out to prove to them that anyone – yes, even a servant or shoeshine – can be taught to be a gentleman. Nature (who you are born as) versus Nurture (who you can become, given the right support) at its best!

Joe is a hardworking realist determined to open his own business as soon as he can. But he is also curious when he gets the offer of being taught to “talk proper” and earn a year’s wages in the process. Not that he believes Arthur and his skeptical friend were serious – not until he walks into Arthur’s house, begins his lessons, and they start to build some trust. Joe’s perspective of the privileged life Arthur leads is fascinating, and with each new thing he learns, he becomes more like the man he might have been had he been born into a family like Arthur’s. The transformation was as fascinating to watch as the beginnings of an undeniable attraction between the two men.
 
Arthur’s idea that human life is infinitely varied and no one is “better” than anyone else marks him as a “radical” in the circles of society he moves in. But the “experiment” he performs with Joe proves that all humans are equals, and even if Arthur’s friends are not ready to accept this concept, Arthur and Joe, at the end of this story, are certain. I loved the way they take this new understanding about a romance they will have to hide and run with it – no matter what anyone else believes. Of course that makes this story more of a fairy tale than a true historical account, and I loved it exactly for that reason. Very well done, Bonnie!

If you like “rags to riches” tales with a touch of fairy tale feeling, if you think everyone deserves a chance at happiness, no matter their background, and if you’re looking for a read that is entertaining, will probably make you smile, has a historical setting with lots of charming details, and a happy ending that is as wonderful as it is unlikely, then you will probably like this novella as much as I do.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by the author for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novel, 202 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	13-June-2017
Price	$3.99 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/Masterpiece-Bonnie-Dee-ebook/dp/B071VP8384