Description:
A fascinating historical mystery by Sulari Gentill, author of #1 LibraryReads pick The Woman in the Library
"This book has it all: intrigue among the British aristocracy, the Nazi threat and a dashing Australian hero. I didn't want it to end!" --Rhys Bowen, New York Times bestselling author
Handsome, wry, and witty despite his impeccable manners, and the dedicated black sheep of his conservative, wealthy Australian family, Rowland Sinclair prefers to leave managing the immense family fortune and politics to his elder brother, Wil, while pursuing a life as a gentleman artist. A life in company of boho housemates Clyde, a fellow painter; Milton, a plagiarising poet; and Edna, the beautiful, emancipated sculptress who is both his muse and the (unacknowledged) love of his life.
Having barely escaped 1933 Germany while reluctantly pursuing an off-the-books mission in Munich, the usually stoic Rowly remains horrified and deeply troubled by the changes that have come about under the Nazi government. For the first time he is moved to take a stance politically, to try and sway the political thought of the time. A friend of the Left and son of the Right, Rowland doesn't really know what he is doing, or what should be done, but he is consumed with a notion that something should be done. Plus he needs to recuperate.
And so Rowly and his friends make for England, where a British aristocrat is soon found murdered in his club, dressed in a negligée impaled by a sword. It's too bizarre a death for a gentleman. His murder, and the suspicion falling on his young niece, quickly plunge the Australians into a world of trouble.
Featuring the dark underbelly of the, British aristocracy, fascists, illicit love, scandal, and spies, as well as players like H.G. Wells and Winston Churchill, this Rowland Sinclair WWII Mystery will appeal to fans of Rhys Bowen, Kerry Greenwood, and Jacqueline Winspear.
Brief description:
After setting out to study astrophysics, graduating in law and then abandoning her legal career to write books, SULARI GENTILL now grows French black truffles on her farm in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains of Australia.
Gentill's Rowland Sinclair mysteries have won and/or been shortlisted for the Davitt Award and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, and her stand-alone metafiction thriller, After She Wrote Him won the Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Novel in 2018. Her tenth Sinclair novel, A Testament of Character, was shortlisted for the Ned Kelly Best Crime Novel in 2021.
Review Quotes: "With fast pacing, madcap characters and intriguing historical personages like H.G. Wells, Evelyn Waugh and Winston Churchill making appearances, Gentlemen Formerly Dressed is historical mystery at its most fun. Sulari Gentill has managed to capture the odd decadence of the British upper classes, in stark contrast to the rising fascist factions in both Germany and England. Fascinating history, entertaining characters and a hint of romance make Gentlemen Formerly Dressed irresistible." -- Jessica Howard, Shelf Awareness