Death in the Fifth Position

Gore Vidal's first book as the mystery writer Edgar Box, a pseudonym he was forced to take after the notoriety of The City and the Pillar made him a public figure and critical dartboard. The City and the Pillar was pilloried by some for its portrayal of homosexuality; here the fictional Box goes in the other direction and exposes us to predatory male ballet stars and diva fag hags. All, ultimately, in savage good fun and the gossipy good writing Vidal is famous for. He declared it took him eight days to write; well, the book's a quick read, and despite the dated-ness of its settings (forties NYC) remains a racy, picaresque thriller which in the best spirit of its author rocks the conventions of its genre