Reviewed by Vicki

TITLE: The Peacock’s Eye

AUTHOR: Jay Lewis Taylor

PUBLISHER: Manifold Press

LENGTH: 328 pages

BLURB:

Philip Standage – half-Italian, Catholic, Kit Marlowe’s last lover – is one of the Admiral’s Players, the company that rivals Shakespeare’s. Once Nick Hanham wheedles his way in to the Rose theatre, Philip even has an apprentice to share his secure life. Secure, that is, until he is caught up in Sir Robert Cecil’s plans for the future of England, and more than England.

The last years of Elizabeth’s reign gleam light and dark like a coin spinning beside a flame: wealth and dirt, glory and revolt, high poetry and bloody murder. In this uncertain world nothing is what it seems, least of all men, least of all love. Who can Philip rely on? And if he makes the wrong choice, who can save him?

REVIEW:

Wow… What a beautiful book! Slow and gentle.

I really want to say this isn’t a romance novel, it certainly doesn’t follow the traditional pattern of boy meets boy, stuff happens, they fall in love and spend the whole book together, until at the end they live happily ever after. But is kinda does follow that pattern, just in a really round about way.

The main character is Philip Standage, he’s a player in a theater company in Elizabethan England. What we learn over time, is he was Kit Marlowe’s lover, up until Kit died, leaving Philip devastated and lonely. We pick his story up five years after the death of Kit, he’s just sort of surviving, but not living or loving. He has friends, and even the occasional lover, and enjoys what he is doing, but he seems just so lonely. He is quite close to the owner of the theater, master Henslowe, living in his house as well as working for him. Through a chain of events, he ends up taking on his first apprentice, a young aspiring player named Nick. Nick is fourteen at the time we meet him, he is attending school in London, but wants to be a player.

At the time this story is set in, women were not allowed to act, men played the female parts, usually younger men, until they get too big or their voices drop. So Philip takes on Nick reluctantly, teaching him their craft, giving him a home, and guidance. Nick would like their relationship to be more, but Philip is not in to young boys. We follow their story over several years, there are lots of details about the life of a player in London. Philip is still suffering from the loss of Kit, tries to have a relationship with a man named Gabriel that doesn’t end well. Nick continues to lust after Philip, who won’t give in to him.

Philip has a friend in a high place that causes some drama, both good and bad. There is some political machinations, involving Philip and the group he performs with. They end up traveling to Scotland and staying for a season, where both Philip and Nick end up forming relationships. Philip with a man named Alexander Grey, who I liked at first but he seemed just a bit fishy to me. Nick finds a young man to teach him the ways of the flesh, hoping that he’ll be more appealing to Philip if he has some experience. So the drama continues, bad shit happening to poor Philip, leaving him physically and emotionally damaged. He loses just about everything in his life, except for Nick. Who holds firm in his love for Philip, through men and drama.

This story unfolds gently, it is a long beautiful book. Very descriptive and detailed about the era, you can tell the author really knows his stuff. There were times that it seemed a bit slow to me, and I wished for something to happen, and a few pages later it did. There is sex, not overly descriptive, but just enough to keep things interesting. I loved Philip, he tries so hard to be happy, but just misses every time. Until the end. I won’t say what happens, but it does have a good ending. I enjoyed the story very much, it won’t be for everyone though. You have to be patient with this one and let it happen. It is worth the wait.

Historical fiction with gay main characters, minimal romance, and sex, but really a very good story. I will be looking for other books by this author!

RATING: 

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