A review by chelsealouise
The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

5.0

5/5 Stars: ‘The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue’ is a Young Adult, LGBT+ Historical Fiction by Mackenzi Lee; ‘The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue’ is Austen, Wilde, and Indiana Jones converged into a deliciously anachronistic bonbon. Lee is a firecracker writer; from script, to story, to character, everything was fun, heady, and enchanting. The plot was full of twists and turns without it being overly complex or overpowering. The villain just wicked enough, the action just dangerous enough, and the supporting aides, interlopers, and antagonists textured enough to feel real in the moment. Sexual Preference, Racism, and Gender Inequality are all issues raised throughout. As a Historical Fiction, none of the characters ever describe themselves as ‘Disabled’, ‘Feminist’, or ‘Queer’. Lee does not let the restrictions of Georgian etiquette limit her characters, however. Our main protagonist Monty is not an easy character to like by any means. On the surface he has more negative qualities than good; but what makes Monty a great character is his capacity to learn from his many, many mistakes. In particular, when Percy or Felicity challenge him on things where his white male privilege has blinded him to other perspectives, he shuts up and listens. It doesn’t matter that he can’t always relate to what they’re dealing with; he listens to their complaints, accepts them as truth, then does his best to use his privileged position to improve theirs, just like a good ally should. In terms of Racism, it would have insightful to see a little more on the perspectives of ‘Race’ from Monty; slavery is still going strong at the time of the novel, and the abolitionist movement in its infancy. The Slave Trade would not be outlawed until 1807 and Black Slavery not until 1834. Monty’s understanding of ‘Race’ and Racism in Great Britain needed fleshing out a little. As it could be wrestled whether or not Monty is acting ‘Colourblind’, choosing to overlook in Percy what society defines as ‘flaws’ based on his racial heritage, or accepting Percy’s ‘Blackness’ as part of his identity.