Ideas on Paper

After Vincent confessed his love for Adrian, the two of them finally, finally get together – however, that's far from the end of their troubles.

On Vincent's part, he must choose between his family and the boy he loves. On Adrian's part, he must choose between two worlds: the world of East London he grew up in, and the world of London's bohemian society he has grown attached to.

The novel does an extremely good job of portraying Adrian's inner conflict, with Adrian's childhood friend (and first crush) Peter – nicknamed "Gloria" – acting as a sort of opposing pole. Though best friends in their youth, it quickly becomes clear they have grown apart over the years, with Gloria having adopted a particularly homophobic stance. That, of course, makes it impossible for Adrian to even openly talk about his relationship with Vincent; in general, Adrian begins to feel very estranged from the place he once called home and its people, so that he starts to lead a sort of "double life". It's something I can relate to surprisingly well, being familiar with the feeling of having to act like a person you're not; the personal freedom Adrian found in London's gay subculture also reminds me a lot of the freedom of expression that I found through my writing and social media, but once you're back in real life (or, in Adrian's case, back at his home in East London), you start pretending again…

On top of that, it becomes apparent that Vincent and Adrian have quite different ideas about their relationship: While Adrian is very physically attracted to Vincent and wants to show him as much, Vincent is very reluctant about sexual intercourse – and if they do it, he prefers to stick to the "no P-in-A" rule.

Now, you could chalk this up to Vincent's own internalized homophobia (which he has to grapple with throughout the novel), but personally, the second novel has made me even more convinced that Vince is ace. Being on the asexual spectrum myself, I can very much understand his desire for a non-physical, spiritual kind of love – I know what it's like when "love" and "sex" are just utterly divorced in your mind.

Meanwhile, for Adrian, all of this is very frustrating, and it takes a lot to "persuade" Vincent into having sex with him. (There is one scene in particular that verges dangerously close on dubcon – the consent definitely isn't clear on Vincent's part. However, Adrian does apologize for it.) On the other hand, Adrian also actively tries changing himself to be "the person Vincent desires", and… Well, that's not exactly the trademark of a healthy relationship.

Although there's definitely mutual attraction between the two, their different ideas about showing their love make it kinda difficult for them to navigate their relationship. Personally though, I don't think either of them is at fault here – rather, I see it as communication issues between an ace-spec person and an allosexual partner. (Made all the more difficult by the fact that asexuality as a concept wasn't even known back in 1894/1895.*)

*History fun fact: Asexuality was first defined in 1897, by German author Emma Trosse in her book "A woman? Psychological-biographical study of a contrary-sexual"; Trosse also identified herself as "asensual".

Moreover, in the wake of Oscar Wilde's trials, Vincent learns some uncomfortable truths about people he considered friends, and with the Marquess of Queensberry frantically searching for witnesses, Adrian's own past threatens to catch up to him – and Vincent, principled man that he is, certainly wouldn't appreciate learning that his lover was formerly engaged in prostitution and ran with a band of blackmailers.

[spoilers start]

However, the inevitable eventually happens, and Vincent finds out about Adrian's unsavory past – which, unfortunately, spells the end of their relationship.

While it's tragic to see their love end like this, it does feel like it was a long time coming. Apart from the underlying disharmony I described above, there was always this "loose thread" of Adrian's past, this sword of Damocles looming above and threatening to cleave the trust between them in two.

That doesn't make it any less heartbreaking for both of them, though – I can totally understand Vincent's feeling of betrayal, especially since I place high value on honesty myself and had my own trust abused in the past.

On the other hand, I can absolutely relate to just how devastated Adrian feels – when there is a person who means literally everything to you, to lose that person means the end of the world. That stinging feeling of unfairness when seemingly, life allows you to be happy for a split second, only for it to take all of that away from you is also something I know all too well.

Still, I'm not sure if Adrian wanting to exact vengeance on Vincent is a good idea – I understand the emotions he's driven by, but Vincent's moral principles notwithstanding, it's clear that both of them had very different visions of a fulfilling relationship. Perhaps it would be best to simply accept that.

Then again, I can't dictate to Adrian what's the right thing to do for him – I'm apprehensively curious where all of this is going to lead, though it will probably take some time until I read the third novel. (Partially because it's the biggest of the three. xD)

[spoilers end]

In any case, the plot is, once again, wonderfully embedded into the historical context – as the author herself says in the appendix, she is a big history nerd and loves doing historical research (same here, btw xD), which definitely can be felt at any point in the novel.

Take, for example, the testimony of Charles Parker during Oscar Wilde's trials: I had actually read it before (since the first novel piqued my interest in the topic), so I immediately recognized it when it came up in the book, and I was extremely impressed when I noticed that the author adopted it almost word for word.

In terms of historical characters, we have another notable figure entering the stage in the second novel: Ada Leverson, affectionately called "Sphinx" by her dear friend Oscar Wilde. As far as her characterization goes, she definitely lives up to that name: From the moment of her introduction, she radiates a kind of magic, wit, and charm that makes each of her appearances delightful – at the same time, she is a truly loyal friend (and she indeed was to Oscar Wilde, even after he was convicted) and even becomes somewhat of a role model for little Imogen. I think this is actually a great development, especially since Mrs. Leverson had a passion for writing just like Imogen – I feel like this is going to be a wonderful outlet for Imogen's creativity she previously couldn't realize. Anyway, you can tell these two hit it off. xD

As for the novel characters, I must say that Trops in particular surprised me with his actions and bravery in the face of the growing hostility towards homosexual men in the wake of Wilde's trials – granted, I still can't stand Trops, but the second novel did make me gain some newfound respect for him.

In general, Floortje Zwigtman's writing is every bit as wonderful, humorous, and engrossing as in the first volume, directly pulling you into late 19th-century London – no matter whether you're in the British Museum, the St. James's Theatre, or seedy back alleys.

Moreover, Zwigtman not only manages to capture the locations, but also the soul of the time period – which, IMO, is what every good piece of historical fiction should do. The Victorian craving for sensation is portrayed in a particularly palpable way in relation to Wilde's trials, with the public being simultaneously repulsed and thrilled by this "moral scandal". Also, the book doesn't mince words when describing the ever-precarious living situation of the working class, which the following paragraphs paint a vivid, haunting picture of:

"I saw lots of them kick the bucket, down at the docks. Usually took a few months. Nearly a year. Always started with them having an accident while loading or unloading. Broken leg, brought to the hospital, and when they got out, no foreman would take them any more. A limper is slower to work, that's a fact. Well, and from then on, you saw it go downhill. Stood at the quay where the day labourers are picked every day, but were never hired again. And no work means no food. They got skinny, and then it didn't take long for their muscles to disappear. Hell, you could've thought their bodies were eating them alive…" […] "And at that point, they'd start drinking. Think they did it so they'd feel warm and forget their hunger and all that. But that's dangerous. They forgot everything: that they had to go back out to the streets after closing and that they had no roof over their heads any more, that it was freezing outside… then they'd huddle in the gateway opposite of our pub, and you'd see them hunching deeper into their coats, pulling their hats over their ears, falling asleep… At least you hoped they were only sleeping… Otherwise, you could call the police the next morning, a whole lot of fuss, plus the coroner… good God!" […] "Stupid crap… stupid rotten luck… and you know what? Can happen to anyone. No work: no food, no home, no wife, no kids. No, I tell you… workhouse, booze, coffin… flick! It's over! Can happen to all of us." (Quote from Chapter 15, translated from German)

It should be said, however, that there are things in the novel that some people might find triggering: The book features a portrayal of conversion therapy, based on the assumption that homosexuality is a "nervous disease". The fact that Adrian quite literally goes insane from it and states he was "healthy until he went into treatment" really says it all – so, take that as a fair warning.

Last but not least, there's one more thing I'd like to mention: I remember seeing one review that criticized the second novel as "kinda boring". While I don't share that opinion, it is true that the plot only really starts to thicken around the middle of the book – the time prior to that is used to build up Adrian and Vincent's relationship as well as Adrian's relations to his East End acquaintances and family. So yeah, if you're just there for the plot, I can see where these parts might feel a bit tedious. However, if you're like me and very invested in the characters, if you enjoy seeing Adrian and Vincent interact with each other and just mentally being in Victorian London, then you'll probably enjoy these parts, too.

Anyway, I can highly recommend these novels to anyone looking for a good LGBTQ+ book or a good historical novel set in the Victorian era (or perhaps both ;-) ). All the more, I find it devastating that these amazing books are not available to a wider audience due to there being no English version of them. (There were rumors of an English translation a few years ago, but I don't think anything became of it.)