Messiah: Love, Music and Malice at a Time of Handel

by Sheena Vernon

Harry Walsh is a young man on the make. He intends to become a famous singer, little knowing what dramas this will lead him through. He attaches himself to the celebrity composer, George Frederick Handel, maestro of the Italian opera, a favourite of royalty. But the aristocratic fashion for Handel is cooling. Opposing opera factions, one led by the scheming castrato, Senesino, knock the great man from his pinnacle. Meanwhile, rival impresarios are capturing new audiences with vulgar burlesques and extravagant pleasure gardens. As Harry negotiates his way through these shifts in popular entertainment his love-life proves equally complicated. He develops a passion for Handel s shy young assistant and finds himself tied into a triangle of love that slowly and painfully falls apart. Documenting the launch of the great oratorio, the Messiah, in Dublin, and capturing the self-absorbed world of the singer, this is a light-hearted account of the rise and fall of the Italian opera in Hanoverian London. It is also a well-observed story of confused sexuality and an adolescent yearning for self-esteem and love."

281 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 2014

About the author

Lives in Brighton: loves walking the dog, cooking meals with her daughters, going to concerts and opera and to low budget Continental films; enjoys seeing her literacy students make progress, keeping busy and planning improvements to her house. Musn't forget reading, would live with her nose in a book all the time if she could. Is at peace with herself most of the time.

Reviews

[David Eppenstein · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author recently contacted me and asked me to read and review her book. After learning briefly what the book was about I responded that I knew almost nothing about music or music history and I doubted that her book would interest me. I suggested that she reconsider her invitation but if she still wanted my opinion I would read her work. The author again requested my attention and I have read the book. First, I truly know almost nothing about music or its history so I have no idea how historically accurate this book is. Further, I am a reader, an ordinary member of the reading public and, therefore, not an authority on the art of writing. I do know what I like, however, and I did not like this book in the least. There is a character in the book that has discovered that entertainment can become a business and the key to success in this new business is anticipating what the people want and giving it to them no matter how tasteless it may be. This author needed to heed those words. This story is devoid of any real drama, tension, or conflict. It is a depiction of the competition between early 18th century entertainers primarily told through the lives of two homosexual lovers close to Handel. It reads like a soap opera involving self-involved prima donnas. Whether the story is well written or not matters little if the story doesn't engage the reader and I sincerely doubt that this story will do that. The story's subject area could be of interest to a very narrow segment of the reading public but when you add the platform of a homosexual romance then even that narrow field is restricted considerably. There are things about this book that make me wonder if it is a work in progress. If it is then I strongly suggest a total rewrite and maybe an entirely new project as I do not think Handel's life should be the backdrop of a homosexual romance unless Handel is one of the participants. To be a successful writer you must find a subject that will engage the reading public. A writer writes for the readers first and then for him/herself. I wish this could have been a more favorable review but I can only tell the truth as I see it.

[Joseph O'Loughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The feelings evoked in me in the first paragraph sent me back to an imagined time, place and sensory environment that I immediately believed was real-- the way I like to experience a story. It was strong on historic detail, music and atmosphere.

This is a dramatized history for a very particular audience of those interested in the composer Handel, and in little-known historical events in England and Europe at that time. Enthused music historians probably will relish this aperçu into a time and place that is described admirably for like-minded aficionados.

There were some interesting observations on the sources of wealth and the birth of financial commerce in England which I liked, and entertaining use of arcane historical dialect. There are deft transitions in time and many artful arrangements of words, especially the vernacular of the period.

However, instead of telling us what happened, the author made the interesting choice of using present tense, which took a lot of time for me to get used to. I felt like it kept pulling me out of the state of suspended disbelief that I enjoy experiencing when I read good novels or hear people tell compelling stories.

Most of the events are told by minor characters about small things that happened to someone else in the past. The majority seem to involve the distant character Handel. It is mostly a story told at arm’s length about an historical figure, by imaginary characters who barely knew him or who knew someone who knew him, or who had heard rumors about him.

In this universe, aspirational artists seem doomed by fate to hitch their wagons to someone else's horses instead of forging their own way. It is a Newtonian universe where everyone seems to be in the orbit of some more attractive object: the protagonist and his acquaintances circle around and derive sustenance from the famous composer Handel; who in turn is sustained by the largesse of the king; whose fate is in turn ruled by geopolitical intrigues on the Continent. The story itself consists of observations of this claustrophobic solar system by the equivalent of amateur cultural astronomers, offered to the reader in present tense.

Although there were many observations of famous musical and literary personalities, there was minimal dramatic focus on the goals or tribulations of the central characters—the dramatic events felt like they occurred at a distance, with not enough emotional gravitational pull toward the main characters for my taste.

For instance, we are presumably expected to care about Handel but are not allowed to know him directly. Handel’s Messiah, presumably a key story component, is only mentioned in passing 78% of the way into the story (my Kindle Reader shows percentage read instead of page numbers). Finally--92% of the way through the book--Handel appears and speaks to the protagonist, but only after the protagonist has married.

The protagonist is Harry Walsh, a young singer aspiring for fame and fortune. The primary source of dramatic tension is Harry’s quest for success, and his internal struggles with his own sexuality and love. Often, when Harry was central to the action, it was a sexy story. He displayed an engaging lust for fame and sex, but that alone wasn't enough for me to care what happened to him. The main dramatic conflict seems to be the resentment and disappointment caused when Handel invites Harry's friend and lover Peter to go to Dublin instead of Harry.

The stakes for Harry are finally raised 82% of the way into the book, when Harry suddenly goes to war. Unfortunately, I didn't feel compelled to care much what happened to him, maybe because he didn't feel worthy of my concern.

At times Harry reminded me of the title character in the Woody Allen movie "Zelig", about a man who was accidentally present at many great events of history, but not a legitimate agent of change. “Zelig” was a funny story, but this one didn’t make me laugh, nor did it feel like compelling drama.

[Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harry Walsh, a rector’s son, is gifted in various ways. He has a wonderful voice. He has a very handsome face. He is English. He has balls. This might prove disadvantageous when the musical scene in London was dominated by Italian castrati like Senesino and Farinelli. In Messiah: Love, music and malice at a time of Handel Sheena Vernon plunges us into 18th century London, all rattling carriage wheels, potholes, bawds, coffee shops and rival opera companies. We are reminded of a vocabulary largely vanished: bobbish coves and ginger-pated blockheads, land pirates and scamps, fussocks and buffleheads who enter stage left and gradually reveal the complex plotting surrounding our hero. Although the Restoration was over by the time this book is set, it has the feel of a restoration comedy, with Lords and Ladies, Earls and Duchesses, foppish singers and growling doormen, having walk on parts as we follow Harry’s fortunes.
We join him in the new Vauxhall Gardens as his feelings for Handel’s assistant Peter deepens into love. But both men and women find Harry alluring, and for a considerable time he also meets the needs of an aristocratic lady with fading charms.
Against a floridly drawn backdrop of London we are introduced to Handel, a genius not universally loved and a man given to some intemperance. Vernon deftly tells the composer’s story through Harry’s eyes as one of the greatest pieces of music, the Messiah, finds its birthplace. This is a charming and fascinating story, wearing its scholarship lightly, but providing a glorious pattern of vignettes worthy of Hogarth (a contemporary of Harry and Handel). This is a book for those who love music, London, history (and a dash of malice).

[Richard Tearle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harry Walsh is a young boy who is pretty hopeless in the classroom and is taken out of Charterhouse School by his exasperated father. But the boy can sing. Through an old school friend, Peter, who is now Handel’s personal secretary, he finds himself in the employ of The Maestro at a time when the composer’s popularity is beginning to wane. We follow Harry’s progress, his integration into a decadent society and his confusion over his own sexuality, for he and Peter soon become lovers. But Harry finds other lovers of both sexes and their relationship begins to disintegrate.

Sheena Vernon has written a beautiful story, full of wit and humour and introducing so many ‘big name’ characters such as Thomas Arne, Hogarth, and even a brief cameo appearance by the painter Thomas Gainsborough. The cast is littered with great characters from castrato singers to rough chairmen, their language is almost incomprehensible yet so believable. The dialogue is sharp and natural as well as entertaining.

The book is written throughout in the present tense which may be a little off-putting at first, but once the reader gets used to it, they will find it a delight.

Highly recommended

(For the Historical Novel Society)