The Adventures of Tom Finch, Gentleman by Lucy May Lennox

Very little rivals the sheer listening pleasure of a well-produced audiobook, and The Adventures of Tom Finch, Gentleman, by Lucy May Lennox surpassed all my expectations. It's not often that I'll kick off a review with a pile of gushing, but in this case, it's entirely warranted.

Narrated by Duke DeFoix, Duchess DeFoix, Olivia Featherton, and Earl Tyrone, this audiobook is a delight from start to finish – each character shining against a well-researched, well-written historical narrative. 

At its heart, this tale follows the doings of one Tom Finch, a composer, conductor and musician operating out of London in the mid-1700s. Tall, handsome and a shameless flirt, Tom is also blind – yet he navigates the theatres and streets of London in fine style. The natural son of a nobleman, Tom doesn't have many prospects – he can't serve in the navy or the army due to his disability, but he's carved a good life for himself conducting operas and writing broadsides with the assistance of his friend. And in fact, his disability perhaps stands him in good stead, for his ability to listen far surpasses that of the sighted.

Tom may be a libertine, but his heart belongs to the free-spirited, gamine Sal, a sometimes bawd and highway robber. But the singer Tess also creeps into his heart, and their friendship has its ups and downs. In fact, by the time I was done with the story, I felt as if the enormous support cast had become the kind of friends I'd expect to meet on the street – and it's a rare thing indeed for a story to grip me like this.

A word also on Lennox's musical knowledge – this novel is incredibly well researched in terms of giving the technical aspects of late-baroque music a ring of authenticity. And while the plot is a rambling journey, it all nonetheless hangs together in a glorious intermeshing of narratives. Each chapter is episodic and almost self-contained, yet contributes beautifully to the overall development of the story – and let me tell you there are not that many authors I've encountered who can pull this off so well. 

I also particularly enjoyed the fluidity of characters' sexuality in a way that felt effortless – many of the characters are bisexual, and no big deal is made of this, which I appreciated. It felt natural and appropriate for the mood of the particular scenes.

I was almost heartbroken by the time I reached the end of this tale and can heartily recommend this well-tuned romp through London, with visits to the English countryside, a troubled crossing of the English Channel and also a flirtation with Paris.