The Betrayal of Thomas True
Comical yet poignant, this thriller of gay romance darkens as it progresses. We start with the arrival in London, in 1715, of handsome young Thomas True, determined to start a new life that will allow him to enjoy his own inclinations. Builder Gabriel Griffin is a widower who still talks to the ghosts of his deceased wife and child but now only seeks romantic company amongst men. Soon Thomas and Gabriel meet in Mother Clap’s Molly House, a world apart of cross-dressing and innuendo. Love ensues, but it is repeatedly frustrated as Gabriel desperately tries to identify an informer called the Rat, whose evidence has led to the arrest of ‘mollies’ and their execution for sodomy. Newcomer Thomas may be the Rat – or is he being framed?
West has provided a large cast of supporting characters but, for me, not all were well differentiated. The plot’s twists and turns did not always seem logical – for example, a group of vigilantes persecuting the mollies are initially important, but then their role in the plot peters out; the City Marshal takes bribes from Mother Clap, but when prompted by two travelling ‘justices’ (more like witchfinders) he is happy to seek the closure of her house. These factors somewhat undermine the suspense.
‘There are well-researched London settings– the Fleet Ditch from which a body must be pulled, a near-drowning in the Thames, the lawless region of Alsatia, the Molly house itself. The dialogue is punchy and believable. I have a slight doubt about what kind of ‘Justices’ would have had a nationwide jurisdiction. Still, I found the book generally enjoyable: ingeniously plotted, vivid and memorable.
