d.h. toole

Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis Award winner for best first novel.

A Tour De Force - part Victorian Thriller, part Romantic Adventure, part Picaresque Comedy.

Welcome to Toronto in the Naughty Eighteen Nineties with its glorious opera houses, fine restaurants, sumptuous brothels, underworld gangs, and drugs galore.

Follow the adventure of Reginald Ravencroft - the rustic dreamer from Balls Falls as he heads off to Toronto to infiltrate high society and marry a woman whose beauty of person and kindness of heart is exceeded only by her enormous wealth.

Join him in his desperate attempt to journey into "love's labyrinth" for the first time.

Thrill to the danger as he sets out on a mission of revenge in¬volving burglaries, kidnapping, murder, and a good deal of shopping. (The pace quickens with every chapter as Reginald races to his date with destiny.)

See Reginald hide a ransom note under Sir John A. Macdonald's right boot.

Meet Belvedere La Griffin - escaped lunatic, diminutive dandy of note - immaculate from his gleaming gold monocle to his dazzling Chantilly riding boots - armed to the teeth, and desperate for adventure. He leads Reginald on his quest for Revenge.

Marvel at "La Divine" Sarah Bernhardt - the most celebrated actress of all time, seductress of five crowned heads of Europe and the Pope of Rome. She is Reginald's guiding light.

Learn from Doctor Marmaduke Dandy - the eccentric Chief Alienist at the Ontario Provincial Lunatic Asylum. A man with a mission - to treat the legions of insane Upper Canadians crazed by lustful¬ness.

Witness Reginald's trip to The Cloister where one expects to be greeted by a fully formed woman wearing nothing save a lewd grin and an arrangement of vegetables so highly suggestive as to leave none save a dullard in doubt as to their symbolism.

Be there as he encounters the charming denizens of the brothel: Big Sue - the giantess bouncer, famous for her jar of pickled human ears, and Pansy - a living dream.

Rub shoulders with members of the dreaded Dead Dog Gang: Dan "The Dude" Dougherty - the Beau Brummel of the Toronto underworld, and inventor of the copper eye gouger. Little Dave Goody - a malig¬nant little rodent of a man, The Dude's chief assassin and lout extraordinare. Piggie o'neil - every filthy fiber of his being crying out of the porcine.

A Wonderful Evocation Of The Times!

Painstakingly Researched!

A Brilliant Portrayal Of Toronto At The Turn Of The Century!

Enthralling. A Delight.

Cheer For Reginald And Belvedere As They Battle Desperate Odds And Shocking Bad Taste!

Long Live Reginald And Belvedere!