Rating: 
Summary: A Cult Classic
Review: "HE WAS SO INNOCENT...UNTIL HE FELL CAPTIVE TO THE BROODING MASTER AND SINISTER SECRETS OF GAYWYCK." Uh huh. I gots to get me some of that, thinks I, and I begin to read. And read. 376 pages later I close the book on the emerald-eyed Robert Whyte ("Almost too beautiful to be alive") flung into a terrifying web of danger and lust with Donough Gaylord ("the epitome of elegance and sophistication"), the brooding master of Gaywyck. In classic gothic story dynamic, neurotic and sickly seventeen-year old Robert is hired to catalogue the enormous library at the great secluded mansion of Gaywyck in turn of the century (last century) Long Island. It's a given that Robert falls under the spell of the master of Gaywyck, "New York's most elegible bachelor," a man possessed of "perfect dark Irish beauty" and a split personality. What follows is standard gothic procedure: sinister servants, secret passages, threatening missives, nervous collapses, apparitions, family secrets, gay sex... Itself like a gothic heroine urgently crying out for rescue, never has a book so begged for rewrite. GAYWYCK is a goldmine of historical detail, chock full of literary and philosophical allusions, as well as references to art, music and architecture. Unfortunately, unlike Argiri's THE GOD IN FLIGHT (which was clearly influenced HUGELY by this novel), here the impressive research overwhelms the convoluted plot. This is so often the problem with historical fiction. Instead of subtly weaving in period details (as one would find with novels actually written in the era), the book turns into a tutorial. Another problem is that, with the possible exception of the cat, everyone in the book is a freak. Not very likable freaks at that. GAYWYCK is peopled by mannerisms and nervous tics as opposed to fleshed-out characters. It's hard to tell if our protagonists act in or out of character because their characters are so sketchy, but certainly they enjoy the most unsatisfying and unwholesome interaction--even for the gothic genre. Still, the book is a classic (mostly from its position is a milestone in gay literature) and worth reading. I suspect its true long-run value lies in its serving as inspiration for writers who followed.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting At Times but Vaguely Unsatisfying
Review: (...)The story is certainly timeless and such a plot is well known if you are a former reader of gothic romance novels like me: two people meet through an arrangement suppose to be business related but eventually and naturally they fall for each other over the course of the story. Subplots and other characters come into play keeping them apart for a time, but eventually everything comes together. Overall a good idea, especially in the fact its same sex lovers in this gothic romance, yet the writing can be confusing at times so the reader is inclined to skip the tedious parts, plus you don't quite know what is going on, why, or with whom more often than not. Of course, gothic novels are suppose to be mysterious and revelational only at the end, yet even at the end I was left unsatisfied not knowing exactly why anything happened. No resolution except that the two lovers eventually do find love and make a life together. Supporting characters are more interesting. I found myself skipping to the parts where favorites were mentioned. Its an acceptable read if you wade into it knowing there is hard going at times, rather like reading Norah Lofts. I'd suggest reading it on a long airplane flight where you have nothing else to do at the time, or if you are a very patient person.
Rating: 
Summary: Completely over the top
Review: A classic gothic romance, Gaywyck invokes its ancestry from the first page. The prose is purple, the master of the house broods, and the ingenue swoons at the drop of a hankie, despite being male. If you like the genre (I don't especially), it's jolly good fun.
Rating:
Summary: Unique novel marred by a flawed protagonist
Review: A novelty at best, this is the first (and only, to my knowledge) "gothic romance" with gay characters. Readers who enjoy books like "Rebecca" and "Jane Eyre" will not be disappointed if you revel in a character who finds romance and mystery while living in a brooding mansion filled with hidden corridors and lurking servants while the winds and storm rage outside. In this respect, the book delivers. Gaywyck, the name of the house, is wonderfully depicted on a grand scale. However, what killed the book for me is the simmering sod of a lead character who is reduced to tears at the drop of a hat. And if he is not crying, he's either cowering in fear, fainting or sick in bed. How the hulky and brooding master of the house, Donough Gaylord, falls for this [guy] is both absurb and unbelievable. So, instead of cheering for Donough to sweep Robert off his feet, the reader is hoping he will throw him over the nearest cliff!
Rating:
Summary: Only if you like gothic romance
Review: I give this four stars even though I didn't particularly like it, since the only reason I didn't like it was that I hate gothic romance. As a gothic romance, however, it does exactly what it's supposed to. It's well written and evokes all the gloom of the classic gothic romance, the strange feeling of isolation, the tension and frustration of a hero haunted by his past. It even has a mysterious secret in the attic. Highly recommended for Charlotte Bronte fans.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the Best Parodies I have Ever Read
Review: I read this book in 1980 when it first came out and immediately fell in love. The overwrought purple prose, the excessive digressions into 19th century minutiae, the classic "gothick" plot reminded me of both the gothic novels published in the mid victorian era-- LeFanu's Uncle Silas, anyone? and the then current gothic romance market. The beautiful pale Robert Whyte trips as lightly though this book as any nightgown clad governess clutching a candle, Donough is a master of brooding, more effective than most Owner of Gloomy Old Mansions, and their romance, littered with misunderstandings, has nearly every cliche belonging to the genre. If ever there was a couple who deserved to be together! I am very happy to see it back in print so I can at last replace my tattered old Avon copy.
Rating: 
Summary: Lord Donough
Review: I was not impresed by this.It was one of the least apealing books I have read.I was just disapointed I guess.I did like a few scenes.I even liked the suporting characters better,but all in the whole.Not a great book.
Rating:
Summary: A Lovely Gothic Romance
Review: If you are a fan of gothic romance, as I am, "Gaywyck" is for you. Of course, it's a gothic romance with a twist, with the main romantic characters both being men. But, all the symbols of the genre are here and done well. Robert Whyte is both lovely and gentle. Donough Gaylord is kind and brooding with terrible secrets in his past. They are both shy and inclined to solitude, and from their very first meeting you can tell they are meant to be together. But, as in all gothic romances, there are secrets to be uncovered first before true love can prevail.
I do have a minor nitpick. Virga is sometimes too enamoured with the written word and quotes other works liberally. It makes sense in one way, since Robert Whyte is Gaywyck's librarian and he loves literature, but at times, it slows down the plot. That notwithstanding, "Gaywyck" is a lovely novel and truly deserving of a read. If you do decide to take a look, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Rating:
Summary: Welcome back, Donough, melancholy lord of the manor
Review: It is good to see Alyson returning this venerable old classic to print. It's a rare example of the gay gothic and an exceedingly overwrought book, but in this time of literary anemia, it's nice to see a novel written in ornate prose. And the novel's damned entertaining too. This is high class trash and a hoary old scenario, the kind of thing Bulwer-Lytton or, more exactly, Hall Caine, would have produced a hundred years before. Highly sensitive Robert Whyte is hired as librarian to Donough Gaylord, the secretive young master of Gaywyck, a fabulous manor just outside NYC. An attraction between the two is immediate, but Donough is hesitant to give in to the younger man's ardor. Why? Could it have something to do with his deceased twin brother? Hmmmm. Virga never scimps on description. His book could well serve as a primer on 19th century architecture, ornithology, music, painting, horticulture, literature, so on and so forth. The mass of detail weighs the story down at times, when the reader is anxious for things to proceed and the dark secrets to be exposed. But stick with it. It is worth the wait. And the cast of characters is the nuttiest collection of kooks since Priestley's THE OLD DARK HOUSE. It's a hoot.
Rating:
Summary: Gothic romance at its best !
Review: This book may have been written in the 1980s but to me the story is timeless. It has everything a gothic romance should have and much more. Dark secrets, alluring isolation in a mansion by the sea, frightening twists and turns, sensual love story, tormented and passionate heroes doomed yet saved in the end. A well described era in New York with fascinating characters you could cheer for. I wish there is more of this in contemporary friction.
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