Gentlemen Formerly Dressed

by Sulari Gentill

Overview

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. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781464206955
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	06/05/2018
Series:	Rowland Sinclair WWII Mysteries , #5
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

A reformed lawyer, Sulari Gentill is the author of the Rowland Sinclair Mysteries, eight historical crime novels (thus far) chronicling the life and adventures of her 1930s Australian gentleman artist; the Hero Trilogy, based on the myths and epics of the ancient world; and a standalone mystery called Crossing the Lines. She lives with her husband, Michael, and their boys, Edmund and Atticus, on a small farm in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains in Australia, where she grows French black truffles and writes.

Sulari has been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize - Best First Book, won the 2012 Davitt Award for Crime Fiction, been shortlisted in 2013 and the 2015 Davitt Award, the 2015 Ned Kelly Award, the 2015 and 2016 Australian Book Industry Award for Best Adult Book, the NSW Genre Fiction Award, commended in the FAW Jim Hamilton Award and offered a Varuna Fellowship. She was the inaugural Eminent Writer in Residence at the Museum of Australian Democracy.

Editorial Reviews

04/16/2018
Set in 1933, Gentill’s entertaining fifth mystery featuring wealthy Australian artist Rowland Sinclair finds Rowland in London, ensconced in a penthouse suite at Claridge’s, after being left for dead by Nazi thugs in his previous outing, Paving the New Road. Rowland’s straitlaced brother, Wilfred, is in town to attend the London Economic Conference. Keen to tell someone in the British government about the atrocities Rowland has seen in Germany, the brothers set off to an exclusive gentlemen’s club to speak with Viscount Pierrepont, an influential Tory. They arrive at his suite to find Pierrepont dead, dressed in a baby-doll nightie and impaled in his bed by a sword. Rowland and his pals decide to investigate. They do so by picking up gossip at swanky parties and motoring down to country houses. The pleasure of this novel lies not in the detection but rather in observing Rowland at dinner with Evelyn Waugh, trading insights with H.G. Wells, and setting Winston Churchill straight on the evils of nationalism. Fans of upper-class sleuths will be in their element. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"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, author of the New York Times bestselling Royal Spyness and Molly Murphy mysteries, and the #1 Kindle bestseller, In Farleigh Field

"Rowland's determined attempts to open British eyes to the gathering storm combine mystery, rousing adventure, and chance meetings with eminent figures from Churchill to Evelyn Waugh." — Kirkus Reviews

"The pleasure of this novel lies...in observing Rowland at dinner with Evelyn Waugh, trading insights with H.G. Wells, and setting Winston Churchill straight on the evils of nationalism. Fans of upper-class sleuths will be in their element." — Publishers Weekly

"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

From the Publisher

"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

"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."

Shelf Awareness - Jessica Howard

"As a period piece, GENTLEMEN is of interest because the British, and the world, do not know they are at the brink of a terrible awakening...I recommend this novel as a lighthearted read about a heavy time in history."

reviewingtheevidence

"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."

Shelf Awareness

"The murder case...is just an entrée into what Gentill does so well: serve up intensely realized period details and reminders of the intersections of crime, art, society, and politics."

Booklist - Connie Fletcher

2018-03-20
A wealthy Australian artist with leftist leanings runs up against the old boy network while hunting a murderer in 1933 England.When Rowland Sinclair went to Germany at the behest of his elder brother, Wilfred, along with his best friends—fellow artist Clyde Watson Jones, Jewish poet Elias "Milton" Isaacs, and stunning sculptress Edna Higgins—they barely escaped with their lives (Paving the New Road, 2018). Rowland's arm was broken and a swastika burned into his chest. Ensconced in the penthouse at Claridge's, Rowland is surprised to learn that his brother is back in London, too. Although Wilfred is furious with both Rowland, who's wanted in Germany for murder, and himself for sending his younger brother into danger, he agrees to find someone important to listen to Rowland's accounts of Nazi horrors. A meeting Wilfred sets up with Lord Pierrepont turns into a disaster when they find the peer at his club with Allie Dawe, a hysterically screaming young woman covered in blood. Pierrepont is dressed in a woman's nightgown, heavily made up, and clutching the sword that's killed him. Allie, Pierrepont's niece and secretary, is arrested for his murder. With Wilfred off in London for a conference and everyone around him eager to hush up the truth about Pierrepont's murder, Rowland refuses to see Allie convicted. His friends panic when Rowland is kidnapped off the street until they learn that his abductor is his second cousin, Rear Adm. Sinclair, aka "Quex," who thinks Rowland is wasting his life. As they mix with members of every class, Rowland and his friends are threatened by British Blackshirts in their attempt to free Allie and convince the aristocrats, who are often sympathetic to the Nazi cause, to wake up to the approaching danger.Rowland's determined attempts to open British eyes to the gathering storm combine mystery, rousing adventure, and chance meetings with eminent figures from Churchill to Evelyn Waugh.

Kirkus Reviews