The second of the Trowbridge Blues series, we are once again dropped into this charming, fictional little city somewhere in what I assume is the UK’s heartland. With Beecroft’s elegant prose, we are also dragged into a world few of us know: the community of historical re-enactors, who recreate the things and activities of long-gone cultures. It’s wonderfully geeky, and I suspect more educational that I realized as I read it.
Our heroes are unconventional, in that we deal not just with men carrying emotional baggage, but men marginalized for reasons other than being gay. Martin Deng—trying to lead a band of Viking battle re-enactors—is half British and half Sudanese. Reinventing himself as a historically plausible black Viking is a proud achievement, but not one his father nor his employer appreciate. As a result, Martin is unhappily closeted.
Billy Wright, on the other hand, is all-English and of gold old Trowbridge stock. Out and proud, his problem is clinical depression, which he alleviates by throwing himself into the motley embrace of a morris-dancing troupe. But Billy’s black dog seems to be triggered by sensory overload, which suggests a kind of autism spectrum aspect to his depression.
There’s a rather harsh meet-cute when Billy’s dance troupe and Martin’s battle clan get double-booked at a country fair, leading to a near-disastrous altercation. Both Martin and Billy step up to the plate and avert disaster. Thus the spark is lit, and our boys begin a halting courtship hampered by their respective emotional hurdles.
Lots of sharply sketched supporting characters appear to fill in the background, but the focus is really always on Billy and Martin. They reveal themselves to be deeply drawn and profoundly good guys with flaws that get in the way of their happiness. The historical background that illuminates their unconventional hobbies is both fascinating and adds to our understanding of how these two men suit each other. Both of them are drawn to authenticity and historical accuracy--something they cannot achieve in their personal lives due to very modern-day issues.
We all know where we want things to go, and watching Beecroft steer the narrative there is like appreciating a well-painted landscape. Every stroke of her pen adds to the picture, making both Billy and Martin ours.
We have just a very brief glimpse of a character from the first Trowbridge Blues—Fintan Hulme, the charismatic gay owner of a bookstore in which Martin and Billy seek refuge during one of Billy’s attacks. I wistfully found myself hoping that at some point in this series these varied gay men will all find each other and become part of a larger Trowbridge-centered community.
Keep it up, Alex.
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