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Gaywyck Trilogy #2
Vadriel Vail
This sweeping saga of love and danger among the aristocracy of early 19th-century New York heralds the return of Vincent Virga, the author of the classic gay gothic romance Gaywyck.
From the heights of glittering society to the depths of poverty in the unimaginably horrific immigrant slums, Vadriel Vail paints a vivid portrait of the excesses and arrogance of the privileged upper classes while providing a richly detailed and classic gothic tale of romance, secrets, and windswept coastlines.
His dreams of a life of religious service shattered, young, brilliant and almost ethereally handsome Vadriel Vail retreats to his family's summer home in Newport, R.I. But his sabbatical is interrupted by the arrival of Armand de Guise, the darkly handsome and dangerous scion of a New York financial empire.
Armand, though charming and sophisticated, has a violent and disturbing nature, which serves him well as one of New York's most notorious slumlords. His attentions could destroy Vadriel, who find's himself both drawn to and repelled by Armand, unless an arranged marriage to a wealthy heiress separates them.
Classic in form and relentlessly entertaining, Vadriel Vail is a historical romance of the highest order.
From the heights of glittering society to the depths of poverty in the unimaginably horrific immigrant slums, Vadriel Vail paints a vivid portrait of the excesses and arrogance of the privileged upper classes while providing a richly detailed and classic gothic tale of romance, secrets, and windswept coastlines.
His dreams of a life of religious service shattered, young, brilliant and almost ethereally handsome Vadriel Vail retreats to his family's summer home in Newport, R.I. But his sabbatical is interrupted by the arrival of Armand de Guise, the darkly handsome and dangerous scion of a New York financial empire.
Armand, though charming and sophisticated, has a violent and disturbing nature, which serves him well as one of New York's most notorious slumlords. His attentions could destroy Vadriel, who find's himself both drawn to and repelled by Armand, unless an arranged marriage to a wealthy heiress separates them.
Classic in form and relentlessly entertaining, Vadriel Vail is a historical romance of the highest order.
384 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2001
95 people want to read
About the author
Vincent Virga
20 books32 followersVincent Virga has been called "America's foremost picture editor." He has researched, edited, and designed picture sections for more than 150 books, including Eyes of the Nation: A Visual History of the United States and the full-length photo essay The Eighties: Images of America. He is also the author of A Comfortable Corner. He is working on a third novel, Theatricals.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 10, 2014
I enjoyed Vadriel Vail as much as I did Gaywyck.
There are villianous acts but the perpetrators are not really villians. They are products of a time one hope is swiftly disappearing.
Vadriel Vail, is not just about a very gloriously irresistible man who, without consciously trying or caring, has such devastating sensual effect on both men and women it's blinking painful. It is the 'showing up' of a villainous society's horrible ignorance and intolerance; it's of the individual's interpretation of what God's love should mean; it's of how rules are created by those whom they benefited the most -the façade and hypocrisy of the higher classes back then.
After a love gone wrong, Vadriel's only aim is to be a monk. So when he fell in love again (with a man), he is willing to torture himself and the man who loves him rather than give in to what he thought of as the 'unnaturalness' of his feelings.
A well written book. There is not enough novels dealing with m/m love with the depth, reality, and seriousness as Vadriel Vail does. This is steeped in reality.
There are villianous acts but the perpetrators are not really villians. They are products of a time one hope is swiftly disappearing.
Vadriel Vail, is not just about a very gloriously irresistible man who, without consciously trying or caring, has such devastating sensual effect on both men and women it's blinking painful. It is the 'showing up' of a villainous society's horrible ignorance and intolerance; it's of the individual's interpretation of what God's love should mean; it's of how rules are created by those whom they benefited the most -the façade and hypocrisy of the higher classes back then.
After a love gone wrong, Vadriel's only aim is to be a monk. So when he fell in love again (with a man), he is willing to torture himself and the man who loves him rather than give in to what he thought of as the 'unnaturalness' of his feelings.
A well written book. There is not enough novels dealing with m/m love with the depth, reality, and seriousness as Vadriel Vail does. This is steeped in reality.
Want to read
July 24, 2022I loved Gaywyck and I need this long out of print sequel NOW!!
Give it to me!
I hope it features cats as much as Gaywyck did.
Give it to me!
I hope it features cats as much as Gaywyck did.
Want to read
June 11, 2018MY BREATH JUST CAUGHT.
do you mean to tell me that vincent virga, author of THE ACCLAIMED AND EXTREMELY RIDICULOUS AND AMAZING gothic novel gaywyck, has ANOTHER BOOK, ALSO A MELODRAMATIC OVERWROUGHT HISTORICAL GAY ROMANCE, and NO ONE TOLD ME???????? all this time????? i had to find out about it randomly, surfing the interwebs at 4:38am? this is everything. i am so excited. 5 minutes after finding out about it i ordered a copy off of amazon. IT'S ON.
do you mean to tell me that vincent virga, author of THE ACCLAIMED AND EXTREMELY RIDICULOUS AND AMAZING gothic novel gaywyck, has ANOTHER BOOK, ALSO A MELODRAMATIC OVERWROUGHT HISTORICAL GAY ROMANCE, and NO ONE TOLD ME???????? all this time????? i had to find out about it randomly, surfing the interwebs at 4:38am? this is everything. i am so excited. 5 minutes after finding out about it i ordered a copy off of amazon. IT'S ON.
September 4, 2021
"Vadriel Vail," is the sequel to "Gaywyck," both written by Vincent Virga.
Both of these novels are Gay-male themed, turn of the century Gothic style romances. These days, I rarely read romance novels of any kind; I still enjoy them, but read them less often. As most of you who read my Goodreads reviews know, the vast majority of books I read these days are Cozy Mysteries, Metaphysical books, Science Fiction, etc.
I do not remember when I first began reading this book, but I do believe it was around October, 2018. The book was put on a massive back burner, and then I picked it up to finally finish reading it. After that, I misplaced it, then found it, then misplaced it again, then found it again.
I love how this book focuses on Vadriel Vail, and how he moves forward in his life after his parents and brother died. From there, the challenges he faces in his personal life, meeting his first (and only) wife, Placidia, as well as meeting the man whom she become his beloved, Armand de Guise.
I especially enjoyed how, in spite of the fact that Placidia and Vadriel began living their lives apart, they remained kind and loving to each other. How, although Placidia was so upset that Vadriel became enamored, literally, by Armand, that they were able to make and keep a friendship.
I also love how Donough and Robbie, the Gaylords, made a few appearances in this novel.
On a very personal note, I love how much Armand changed from the beginning of this novel toward the end of it. It is rare that people truly change for the better, but this novel shows that people can change for the better.
And yes, I especially love the personal insights that Vadriel discovered about himself, and the wonderful people he met in his life, prior to realizing what he wants and who he wants in his life.
In closing, I recently discovered that Mr. Virga wrote another Gay-themed novel, "A Comfortable Silence." That shall soon be bought and read.
Both of these novels are Gay-male themed, turn of the century Gothic style romances. These days, I rarely read romance novels of any kind; I still enjoy them, but read them less often. As most of you who read my Goodreads reviews know, the vast majority of books I read these days are Cozy Mysteries, Metaphysical books, Science Fiction, etc.
I do not remember when I first began reading this book, but I do believe it was around October, 2018. The book was put on a massive back burner, and then I picked it up to finally finish reading it. After that, I misplaced it, then found it, then misplaced it again, then found it again.
I love how this book focuses on Vadriel Vail, and how he moves forward in his life after his parents and brother died. From there, the challenges he faces in his personal life, meeting his first (and only) wife, Placidia, as well as meeting the man whom she become his beloved, Armand de Guise.
I especially enjoyed how, in spite of the fact that Placidia and Vadriel began living their lives apart, they remained kind and loving to each other. How, although Placidia was so upset that Vadriel became enamored, literally, by Armand, that they were able to make and keep a friendship.
I also love how Donough and Robbie, the Gaylords, made a few appearances in this novel.
On a very personal note, I love how much Armand changed from the beginning of this novel toward the end of it. It is rare that people truly change for the better, but this novel shows that people can change for the better.
And yes, I especially love the personal insights that Vadriel discovered about himself, and the wonderful people he met in his life, prior to realizing what he wants and who he wants in his life.
In closing, I recently discovered that Mr. Virga wrote another Gay-themed novel, "A Comfortable Silence." That shall soon be bought and read.
April 26, 2012
As I enjoyed Vincent Virga's other novel "Gaywyck", I thought I would enjoy "Vadriel Vail". Unfortunately, I disliked this self indulgent novel so much I don't want to even finish it. I had it with me on a long train trip and I prefered to be bored for hours, than finish reading it.
The plot is extremely predictable, the characters one dimensional, the writing style tending to be overly ornate, making a simple scene a labour to read through.
I would not recommend this novel to anyone, unless you're the sort that likes Mill's & Boons type stories. But even on that point, author Gordon Merrick is far better at trashy gay fiction, set in different eras, than this offering by Vincent Virga.
The plot is extremely predictable, the characters one dimensional, the writing style tending to be overly ornate, making a simple scene a labour to read through.
I would not recommend this novel to anyone, unless you're the sort that likes Mill's & Boons type stories. But even on that point, author Gordon Merrick is far better at trashy gay fiction, set in different eras, than this offering by Vincent Virga.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews