by Hayley Charlesworth
Telling the tale of dashing Edwardian secret agent Lucifer Box, The Vesuvius Club is the first book in Mark Gatiss’ delightful trilogy of spy novels, also encompassing The Devil in Amber and Black Butterfly. As one would expect from the pen of Gatiss, Box is a charming, intelligent rake possessed of a quick wit and painting skills. He is also bisexual.
Telling the tale of dashing Edwardian secret agent Lucifer Box, The Vesuvius Club is the first book in Mark Gatiss’ delightful trilogy of spy novels, also encompassing The Devil in Amber and Black Butterfly. As one would expect from the pen of Gatiss, Box is a charming, intelligent rake possessed of a quick wit and painting skills. He is also bisexual.
Lucifer Box lives at Number 9 Downing Street, because somebody has to. From there, he paints, and generally behaves like a dandy, but he is also an agent of His Majesty’s Secret Service. Lucifer receives the mission from his boss Sir Joshua Reynolds to pick up the threads of an investigation led by the murdered Jocelyn Utterson Poop, concerning two scientists killed within a day of each other. Lucifer accepts, as his friend Christopher Miracle is implicated in the murder, and the investigation leads him to Naples, to the mysterious and dangerous Vesuvius Club, and a dastardly plot to cause chaos and destruction.
Lucifer’s guide through Naples, and ticket into the Vesuvius Club, is gay valet Charlie Jackpot, who soon becomes Lucifer’s sidekick and lover. Still Lucifer’s bisexuality is not forgotten, as he flirts with and romances women throughout the book. Lucifer is portrayed as a little promiscuous, sometimes even willing to use sex as part of his work, but not in a fashion that presumes bisexuals have no concept of monogamy, as with other media. Rather, Lucifer is like an Edwardian Bond, only a Bond just as likely to make a move on Q as he is Moneypenny. Charlie, meanwhile, is a fun, handsome and intelligent right hand man to Lucifer, just as useful in the midst of the investigation as he is in the bedroom. The sexuality of the characters is dealt with explicitly within the text, but crucially, it is not the main focus of these characters. Gatiss could easily write Charlie as a woman without it having a significant impact on the plot. The Lucifer and Charlie relationship is just present. It's just fact.
The plot, which should not be spoiled, is utterly ridiculous, but as a comedy novel, it is expected to be so. It moves at a brisk pace, but is unafraid to distract itself from the main spy narrative in order to explore Lucifer's dandyist pursuits, such as portrature, or his romantic conquests. The villains are as camp and outlandish as Lucifer is himself, and it is clear to the reader what a good time Gatiss had developing this universe. The Vesuvius Club is a light, fun read, but one with a great deal of intelligence, knowing exactly what it means to be lampooning. Lucifer Box comes across as a humorous blend of Sherlock Holmes and Lord Byron, and as Gatiss went on to co-create Sherlock, you can expect his knowledge of Victorian detective tropes to be off the charts. The Vesuvius Club is rewarding to big fans of the spy genre, but still a rollicking adventure for the average reader.
Lucifer’s guide through Naples, and ticket into the Vesuvius Club, is gay valet Charlie Jackpot, who soon becomes Lucifer’s sidekick and lover. Still Lucifer’s bisexuality is not forgotten, as he flirts with and romances women throughout the book. Lucifer is portrayed as a little promiscuous, sometimes even willing to use sex as part of his work, but not in a fashion that presumes bisexuals have no concept of monogamy, as with other media. Rather, Lucifer is like an Edwardian Bond, only a Bond just as likely to make a move on Q as he is Moneypenny. Charlie, meanwhile, is a fun, handsome and intelligent right hand man to Lucifer, just as useful in the midst of the investigation as he is in the bedroom. The sexuality of the characters is dealt with explicitly within the text, but crucially, it is not the main focus of these characters. Gatiss could easily write Charlie as a woman without it having a significant impact on the plot. The Lucifer and Charlie relationship is just present. It's just fact.
The plot, which should not be spoiled, is utterly ridiculous, but as a comedy novel, it is expected to be so. It moves at a brisk pace, but is unafraid to distract itself from the main spy narrative in order to explore Lucifer's dandyist pursuits, such as portrature, or his romantic conquests. The villains are as camp and outlandish as Lucifer is himself, and it is clear to the reader what a good time Gatiss had developing this universe. The Vesuvius Club is a light, fun read, but one with a great deal of intelligence, knowing exactly what it means to be lampooning. Lucifer Box comes across as a humorous blend of Sherlock Holmes and Lord Byron, and as Gatiss went on to co-create Sherlock, you can expect his knowledge of Victorian detective tropes to be off the charts. The Vesuvius Club is rewarding to big fans of the spy genre, but still a rollicking adventure for the average reader.
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