Death in the Fifth Position

by Edgar Box and Gore Vidal

Book Overview

In Death in the Fifth Position , dashing P.R. man Peter Sargent is hired by a ballet company on the eve of a major upcoming performance. Handling the press seems to be no problem, but when a rising... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0922890609
• ISBN13: 9780922890606
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: Armchair Detective Library
• Length: 221 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 1.0" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

Fifth Position, first-rate writing

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