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.The Back Passage

by: James Lear

April 17, 2008

Yes, it's entertaining and yes it's arousing and thus fulfils its own brief. But ... oh dear Mr Lear, on page TWO you identify the river that flows through Cambridge as the Isis. It isn't. The Isis flows through Oxford. The "old" name of Cambridge's river Cam is the Granta (like the literary magazine). In a confection such as "Back Passage", it's these details (easily checked on Wikipedia, for God's sake), that make the difference between a genre-subverting delight and a ho-hum "well ... it's sort of OK and ... sort of fun ..."

Louis LaSalle's cover photograph is, as usual with Mr LaSalle, drop-dead sexy.







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.The Palace of Varieties

by: James Lear

April 03, 2008
This is the book I wish I'd written myself. It's sleazy and highly explicit; not for the faint-hearted. But it summons up brilliantly the atmosphere of the Halls and of the queer subculture of the thirties, (not that I remember!)

Paul Lemoyne is a pretty unpleasant character, but like his few real friends, you can't quite abandon him, and despite yourself, you care what happens to him. I suppose the fact that he knows he's behaving badly is a considerable redeeming feature. The end suggests that this may be the first of a series -- I would guess a trilogy -- a prospect which makes me very happy.

The book is written in spare prose and with a lightness of touch which makes it a pleasure to read.
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.Secret Tunnel, The

by: Lear, James

2008-11
This is the book I wish I'd written myself. It's sleazy and highly explicit; not for the faint-hearted. But it summons up brilliantly the atmosphere of the Halls and of the queer subculture of the thirties, (not that I remember!)

Paul Lemoyne is a pretty unpleasant character, but like his few real friends, you can't quite abandon him, and despite yourself, you care what happens to him. I suppose the fact that he knows he's behaving badly is a considerable redeeming feature. The end suggests that this may be the first of a series -- I would guess a trilogy -- a prospect which makes me very happy.

The book is written in spare prose and with a lightness of touch which makes it a pleasure to read.
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.Hot Valley

by: James Lear

May 02, 2007
For some reason, I got the impression that 'Hot Valley' was going to be more serious than James Lear's earlier work. I was wrong -- up to a point. Readers whose experience begins with his previous novel, 'The Back Passage', might be surprised at a difference in tone here; but if you've read 'The Low Road' or 'The Palace of Varieties', you'll discover a familiar Lear theme; the selfish, wanton young man, indulging in wild and indiscriminate gay sex until he's finally redeemed by the pricking of conscience and the cleansing salve of love.

Jack Edgerton is the scion of a rich Vermont family, sowing his wild oats - and believe me, they're wild - in the years just before the American Civil War. One of my favourite episodes has the ... Read More:
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.Best Gay Erotica 2009: 0 (Best Gay Erotica)

by: Labonte, Richard, Lear, James

December 04, 2008
For some reason, I got the impression that 'Hot Valley' was going to be more serious than James Lear's earlier work. I was wrong -- up to a point. Readers whose experience begins with his previous novel, 'The Back Passage', might be surprised at a difference in tone here; but if you've read 'The Low Road' or 'The Palace of Varieties', you'll discover a familiar Lear theme; the selfish, wanton young man, indulging in wild and indiscriminate gay sex until he's finally redeemed by the pricking of conscience and the cleansing salve of love.

Jack Edgerton is the scion of a rich Vermont family, sowing his wild oats - and believe me, they're wild - in the years just before the American Civil War. One of my favourite episodes has the ... Read More:
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.The Low Road

by: James Lear

December 31, 2001
For some reason, I got the impression that 'Hot Valley' was going to be more serious than James Lear's earlier work. I was wrong -- up to a point. Readers whose experience begins with his previous novel, 'The Back Passage', might be surprised at a difference in tone here; but if you've read 'The Low Road' or 'The Palace of Varieties', you'll discover a familiar Lear theme; the selfish, wanton young man, indulging in wild and indiscriminate gay sex until he's finally redeemed by the pricking of conscience and the cleansing salve of love.

Jack Edgerton is the scion of a rich Vermont family, sowing his wild oats - and believe me, they're wild - in the years just before the American Civil War. One of my favourite episodes has the ... Read More:
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Used Price: £99.98

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.Aircraft riveting;: A guide for the student,

by: Earl Bean Lear, James E. Dillon

1942
For some reason, I got the impression that 'Hot Valley' was going to be more serious than James Lear's earlier work. I was wrong -- up to a point. Readers whose experience begins with his previous novel, 'The Back Passage', might be surprised at a difference in tone here; but if you've read 'The Low Road' or 'The Palace of Varieties', you'll discover a familiar Lear theme; the selfish, wanton young man, indulging in wild and indiscriminate gay sex until he's finally redeemed by the pricking of conscience and the cleansing salve of love.

Jack Edgerton is the scion of a rich Vermont family, sowing his wild oats - and believe me, they're wild - in the years just before the American Civil War. One of my favourite episodes has the ... Read More:
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.The Owl and the Pussycat

by: Edward Lear

1998-10
For some reason, I got the impression that 'Hot Valley' was going to be more serious than James Lear's earlier work. I was wrong -- up to a point. Readers whose experience begins with his previous novel, 'The Back Passage', might be surprised at a difference in tone here; but if you've read 'The Low Road' or 'The Palace of Varieties', you'll discover a familiar Lear theme; the selfish, wanton young man, indulging in wild and indiscriminate gay sex until he's finally redeemed by the pricking of conscience and the cleansing salve of love.

Jack Edgerton is the scion of a rich Vermont family, sowing his wild oats - and believe me, they're wild - in the years just before the American Civil War. One of my favourite episodes has the ... Read More:
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.The Owl and the Pussycat Cut-Out

by: Edward Lear, Maurice Sendak, James Marshall

1998-09
For some reason, I got the impression that 'Hot Valley' was going to be more serious than James Lear's earlier work. I was wrong -- up to a point. Readers whose experience begins with his previous novel, 'The Back Passage', might be surprised at a difference in tone here; but if you've read 'The Low Road' or 'The Palace of Varieties', you'll discover a familiar Lear theme; the selfish, wanton young man, indulging in wild and indiscriminate gay sex until he's finally redeemed by the pricking of conscience and the cleansing salve of love.

Jack Edgerton is the scion of a rich Vermont family, sowing his wild oats - and believe me, they're wild - in the years just before the American Civil War. One of my favourite episodes has the ... Read More:
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.Tortoises Terrapins & Turtles

by: Lear, James De Carle Sowerby

1984-12
For some reason, I got the impression that 'Hot Valley' was going to be more serious than James Lear's earlier work. I was wrong -- up to a point. Readers whose experience begins with his previous novel, 'The Back Passage', might be surprised at a difference in tone here; but if you've read 'The Low Road' or 'The Palace of Varieties', you'll discover a familiar Lear theme; the selfish, wanton young man, indulging in wild and indiscriminate gay sex until he's finally redeemed by the pricking of conscience and the cleansing salve of love.

Jack Edgerton is the scion of a rich Vermont family, sowing his wild oats - and believe me, they're wild - in the years just before the American Civil War. One of my favourite episodes has the ... Read More:
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Used Price: £72.70