The Medici Boy by John L'Heureux

New York : Astor + Blue, 2013

Florence during the Renaissance had a significant homosexual culture built around age-structured relationships. To discourage this behavior, in 1432 the city formed Gli Ufficio della Notte (Officers of the Night), to prosecute cases against those involved. By 1502, when it was dissolved, an estimated 12,500 men had been charged in this court with an estimated 2500 convictions for sodomy. Although serious penalties were available by law (forced castration, being burning at the stake), most convictions from this court resulted in a fine.

Against this historical backdrop, John L'Heureux weaves together Donatello's creation of his famous bronze David and the political intrigue surrounding the battle between the Medici and Albizzi families. Told from the point of view of Luca Mattei, an assistant in his workshop, it is the story of Donatello's passion for his model (and part time prostitute), Agnolo, who frequently finds himself on the wrong side of the Officers of the Night. Donatello's friend and patron Cosimo de'Medici can use his power to assist, but when Rinaldo degli Albizzi gains the upper hand in their battle, who will help Agnolo?

Young Bathers by Georg Pauli

Young Bathers (1914)
Georg Pauli (Swedish, 1855-1935)
Nationalmuseum - Stockholm

The Gallery by John Horne Burns

New York : Harper & Brothers, 1947

The emotional center of Burns' first novel is the Galleria Umberto,  August 1944. At the heart of Naples, with it's bombed out skylights, it is the gathering place for Allied soldiers and Neapolitans trying to survive.

Named The Saturday Review of Literature's best war book of the year, The Gallery is organized into a series of portraits showing the experience of the average person in occupied Naples. 

The Gallery reads as a collection of short stories built around a place in time. Momma (the fifth portrait) is often included on lists of pre-Stonewall literature due to it's overt gay content. The owner of the bar where gays, and to a lesser degree, lesbians gather is owned by an Italian woman, they affectionately call Momma. What's unique about the story is that it incorporates all types and the fact that everyone is gay doesn't mean that there isn't overt racism and xenophobia among the soldiers for which Naples is not home. 

It would be a mistake, however, to read Momma as a standalone piece, since it's power resides in it's inclusion within the larger work. The Gallery paints a picture, not of The Greatest Generation, but of soldiers who bring their own prejudices to a situation they never wanted to be in.

Bibliographies & Ratings: Cory (IV [Momma]); Garde (Primary, *** [Momma]); Mattachine Review (IV [Momma]); Young (522)

Orpheus with Laurels by Jean Cocteau

Orpheus with Laurels (1951)
Jean Cocteau (French, 1889-1963)
Oil on canvas

Red Sun by Arthur G. Dove

Red Sun (1935)
Arthur G. Dove (1880-1946)
Oil on canvas
20 1/4 x 28 in.
The Phillips Collection (Washington DC)

James Avati, Pulp Cover Artist

Signet #1064, The Descent by Fritz Peters [1953]

James Avati (American, 1912-2005)

28 x 24 in.

Collection of Françoise Berserik

Known as 'The Rembrandt of Paperback Book Covers," James Avati is probably the most well known paperback cover artist. For more information, see The Paperback Art of James Avati by Piet Schreuders and Kenneth Fulton (Donald M. Grant, 2005) or the documentary of the same name.

This painting is typical of Avati's style. It was used for the cover of the Signet paperback edition of Fritz Peters' The Descent, a novel that takes place on the roads and highways of the United States, ending in a catastrophic event in New Mexico.

The Feathers of Death by Simon Raven

London : Anthony Blond, 1959

The trouble began the moment Lieutenant Alastair Lynch laid eyes on 18-year-old Drummer, Malcolm Harley, who was participating in a boxing match aboard ship. After the first round, "[h]e went back to his corner flushed and quivering, though apparently not badly damaged. When he sat down on the stool, he leaned right back against the corner pad and stretched his legs out in front of him, so that, from where I was sitting, I could see right up his shorts to his groin." (p.12)

The ship carrying the 121st Mounted Infantry (also known as Martock's Foot) lands at the fictional port of Eirene. After settling in, Harley is discovered to be drunk during the guard of honour for the General's departure. Lynch defends him and agrees to take him into his troop (and under his wing). Privately, the other officers are confused why Lynch has stood up for this boy and greatly concerned about just what sort of feelings Lynch has for him.

In a conversation with one of his fellow officers, Michael Byrt, Lynch confirms his feelings for Harley. When Byrt suggests that he is meant to have grown up since leaving school, Lynch replies, "Not a very clever observation. Some people 'grow up', as you put it, much later than others. Some never grow up at all. Or perhaps growing-up has nothing whatever to do with it." (p.106)

Tasked with patrolling English settlements to protect them from Karioukeya's Brigade, a group of natives actively fighting the colonization of their lands, Lynch's troops come under attack. During the fighting, Lynch shoots Harley and is brought before the court martial to determine whether he is guilty of murder. The relationship between Lynch and Harley, known among the other men, becomes the focus of the proceedings.

Rules about fraternization with locals and the prohibition of the use of prostitutes, creates a closed all-male environment that feels more like a boarding school than the modern military, maybe not surprising since the officers are barely out of school. The author reinforces this with the use of Greek place names as well as references to classic Greek military campaigns.


Bibliographies & Ratings: Young (3212, *)