A Gentleman’s Position by K.J. Charles

Narrated by Matthew Lloyd Davies

K.J. Charles’ Society of Gentlemen trilogy is easily one of the best series of historical romances I’ve read and listened to in recent years. There’s more than enough history to satisfy those of us who like our historicals to pay more than lip-service to the moniker, the romances are all beautifully written and the characters are engaging and fully-rounded.

In terms of the historical background, the previous books in the series (A Fashionable Indulgence and A Seditious Affair) have made excellent use of the rather unsettled political situation in England in 1820. This was a country looking over its shoulder at revolution and those in power were not above resorting to underhand means in order to root out those who were brave enough to speak against the abuses of power being perpetrated against the populace. In A Gentleman’s Position, however, the author turns her attention to a smaller canvas and focuses on domestic issues, taking an unvarnished look at the difficulties inherent in pursuing a relationship outside of one’s class.

There have been hints in the other books that Lord Richard Vane, the widely respected second son of a marquess, arbiter of good taste and leader of a small group of men linked together by friendship and the fact that their sexual preference is for other men – is unhappily in love with someone he cannot have. For the past four and a half years, he has been faithfully served by David Cyprian, arguably the best valet in London – and has wanted David in his bed for just as long, but to Richard, the idea of ‘dallying with the staff’ is abhorrent. It isn’t honourable, when one person has all the power and the other none, and it just isn’t done.

As the leader of his set, Richard is the person to whom everyone else comes with their troubles, and for four and a half years, his superlative valet has been the man to whom Richard has turned when something needed fixing. David is almost frighteningly competent; he has a way of looking at things from every angle until he finds an advantage, he listens to people, he understands them and what they want – he’s highly intelligent, manipulative and scrupulously loyal to Richard, whom he loves deeply but unrequitedly.

The status quo is maintained until one fateful evening when both men suddenly realise the truth, and then the world shifts for both of them. Richard refuses to take David as his lover and put him in such an unequal and dangerous situation and refuses to listen to David’s insistence that he knows his own mind and is quite capable of saying “no” if it needs saying. But Richard is adamant, and will admit no discussion on the matter. As time goes on, it becomes more and more difficult for David to function properly in the sorts of intimate situations necessitated by his position as valet, and eventually he snaps and tries to get Richard to properly acknowledge the truth of what lies between them.

Unfortunately, however, his efforts have a devastating effect when Richard, who is equally frustrated and filled with self-hatred because he is finding it so hard to keep his hands off his servant, dismisses David without really knowing what he is doing. Hurt and betrayed, David flees, and it’s only when he is gone that Richard starts to fully appreciate what he had in the man – and not just because of his extraordinary ability to get things done. David was a trusted confidante, someone who, day after day, offered support, care and affection because he could and because it pleased him to do so, and without him, Richard is bereft. But a situation is brewing that could spell exposure and ruin for all the Ricardians, and there is only one person they trust to diffuse it – if he can be persuaded to return to Richard’s side for the duration.

One of the many things K.J Charles gets so right in this story is in the treatment of that favoured trope, the master/servant romance. Cross-class relationships are difficult to pull off in historicals especially, given the incredibly strict social conventions of the time, and those difficulties are amplified several times over in a story such as this where the protagonists are both male, again, due to the social and sexual mores of the period. But this author handles the situation with aplomb, never losing sight of the fact that the central relationship is more than ordinarily fraught with problems while writing a romance of such intensity that there is never any question that these two people are destined to be together, regardless of gender or class.

I was also very impressed by the way she shows so clearly that the relationship between Richard and David is nowhere near as unequal as Richard believes it to be. Richard may be an incredibly wealthy gentleman of consequence, but that counts for nothing when it comes to expressing his emotions or understanding the feelings of others. He makes many mistakes when it comes to David, all of them rooted in the best of intentions, but which he fails to recognise are more hurtful and insulting to David than the situation of inequality from which he is trying to protect him. Richard has to learn that David is quite capable of taking care of himself and that he has the right to make his own decisions and set his own boundaries.

Matthew Lloyd Davies returns to narrate this final book in the trilogy, but although he gives another very strong performance, and one I enjoyed overall, it’s not my favourite of the three. His pacing is excellent and his character differentiation is very good, even though I did notice a few inconsistencies with one or two of the minor characters from previous books. For the most part, those are small issues and not things that spoiled my enjoyment of the book, although I wasn’t wild about the slightly nasal tone used for Dominic Frey, who didn’t sound like that at all in A Seditious Affair. I did, however, love hearing Silas Mason again – I’ve got quite the soft spot for him! – and enjoyed getting reacquainted with Harry and Julius as well. When it comes to the two principals, Mr Lloyd Davies’ portrayals are consistent with the previous books, with his interpretation of David being one of my favourites of all those in the series. I have to admit, however, that I found his characterisation of Richard to be a little problematic, even though it’s completely consistent and those deep, resonant, rounded tones are absolutely perfect for a large man who is every bit the entitled aristocrat. I know that sounds contradictory, and for most of the book, his interpretation works very well. My issues are principally to do with the love scenes, because I found it difficult to make the leap from Richard “the pompous arse” to Richard “the lover” – and here I’ll also say that Mr Lloyd Davies is a narrator who throws himself wholeheartedly into the sex scenes, so if you prefer them to be performed in a more understated manner, then you might need to hit the fast forward button!

But even with that reservation, I’m recommending A Gentleman’s Position most strongly in terms of both content and narration. K.J. Charles has penned a wonderfully compelling and passionate love story that keeps the emotions front and centre but doesn’t attempt to sweep contentious issues under the carpet. And while I might not be rating Mr Lloyd Davies’ performance quite as highly as for the other two books, it’s nonetheless very accomplished and is one I’m sure I’ll be revisiting.

[section label=’Audiobook Information’ anchor=’Audiobook Information’]

Caz

AUDIOBOOK INFORMATION

TITLE: A Gentleman's Position

AUTHOR: K. J. Charles

NARRATED BY: Matthew Lloyd Davies

GENRE: Historical Romance

STEAM FACTOR: Glad I had my earbuds in

REVIEWER: Caz [button type=’link’ link=’http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EVJR4NG/?tag=audiogalsnet-20′ size=’btn-lg’ variation=’btn-default’ target=’blank’]Buy A Gentleman's Position by K. J. Charles on Amazon[/button]