Provender Gleed

by Lovegrove James

The Families. Insanely rich and richly insane. With world-spanning business interests, glamour and power, they are monarchs, Mafia and movie stars rolled into one. Since the Borgias and Medicis united in the 17th century, the Families have transfixed, transformed and ruled the world. Top British Family the Gleeds are hosting the social event of the year, their annual ball. Venice has been reconstructed in all its glory in the grounds of their estate, Dashlands, and should provide the perfect romantic backdrop for Provender - the young, disaffected Gleed heir upon whom the Family line, and status, depends - to finally find a wife. But Provender shows no sign of settling down with any of the social beauties his mother parades before him ... and in the moment when love does begin to blossom, Provender is kidnapped by an anti-Familial revolutionary. The future of the Gleeds, and of Europe, depends on the skills of two Anagrammatic Detectives - while Provender's own future depends on the dark eyes and equally dark wit of a girl called Is.

352 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2005

Reviews

[Donald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really, this is a basic crime story. A kidnapping. What raises it above that us the world building. A world like our own, but shifted slightly. Divergent somewhere in the late 15th Century, when the Borgia and the Medici families combined and took over Italy, paving the way for other great families to do likewise and become Families. Ruling the world, not directly, but with influence, until we get to 'now' (well 15 years ago) a slightly steampunk version of reality, where Families are Royalty, Celebrity, Businessmen and Politician in one, and very much in charge. The pre-eminent British Family are the Gleeds, and their son and heir is something of a lost soul. Spending hours on his videograph, uninterested in the suitable wives his mother parades under his nose, all in all, a disappointment. Then he's kidnapped whilst reluctantly showing his face at the grand yearly ball thrown by his family, just days before his 25th birthday... it might just be the making of him.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very clever story about a simple kidnapping in a world where wealthy families are the string pullers in everyday life. Like Royal houses of the past, these families are revered by the majority, yet despised by enough for them to take extreme precautions.
This book could have been a bland and only so so sort of whodunnit except James Lovegrove is a world class word master. He gets right into the guts of the story...and the characters and with the addition of two unique detectives, turns this story into something really special.
Words are hero of this story and I found it a joy to read every single one.

[Philip Chaston · Rating 3 out of 5]

A take on simulation theory where wordplay is encoded in the fundamental rules of the Universe to allow the existence of anagrammatic detectives? This satire promotes a keen sense of the chaotic and the unforeseen at the beginning, yet there is a determined unfolding of purpose that rushes up to the bold stroke of choice and free will at the end. Only Mr Lovegrove knows the answer to his romance.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting satire about modern life, set in an alternate England, where the world is run by a cabal of Families, formed by the Borgias and the Medicis from Renaissance times. Provender Gleed is the heir to the dominant English family. He is just about to turn 25, and his mother wants him to marry and have heirs. However, at his birthday celebrations, he is kidnapped by unknown forces. He forms a bond with one of the kidnappers, who helps him to escape. The crime is investigated by two anagram detectives, both of whom partly solve the mystery. Not always successful in its execution, but still a bit of hoot.

[Anna Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book, after a shaky start when I thought it was going to be a bit silly ... I'd just come from reading quite a heavy book and this one seemed a bit obvious in comparison but once it finds its feet it's actually great fun and is tough to put down. It's a thinly veiled observation on the young Royals but isn't too hard to imagine as a state that the UK may have found itself in if history had followed a different path. A thought-provoking idea wrapped in a good old romp, thoroughly recommended.

[Steve]

pretty good stuff.