Books like The good life by Gordon Merrick
Set against the glittering backdrop of 1930s and 1940s New York, Gordon Merrick’s The Good Life tells the story of Perry Langham, a poor boy whose love for longtime lover’s daughter Bettina ushers them into high society. The novel portrays their extravagant journey—travels to Europe, Mediterranean yachting, parties, and celebrity encounters—before Bettina discovers the true nature of Perry’s relationship with her father. Confronted with betrayal, she threatens to expose the affair, but a sudden murder changes the fate of the Langham family forever. The book offers a vivid glimpse into gay life, crime, and social dynamics of the era.
First publish date: 1997
Genre: LGBTQ+ Fiction/Gay Fiction
Authors: Gordon Merrick
★
★
★
★
★
0.0 (0 community ratings)
How are these books recommended?
The books recommended for The good life by Gordon Merrick are shaped by reader interaction. Votes on how closely books relate, user ratings, and community comments all help refine these recommendations and highlight books readers genuinely find similar in theme, ideas, and overall reading experience.
Have you read any of these books?
Your votes, ratings, and comments help improve recommendations and make it easier
for other readers to discover books they’ll enjoy.
Books similar to The good life (20 similar books)
In an elite New England college, a charismatic classics professor lures a group of eccentric students into obsessive study, leading them from intellectual curiosity to corruption, betrayal, and ultimately murder.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Set in 1950s Paris, James Baldwin’s novel follows an American expatriate entangled in a doomed love triangle, confronting desire, morality, and sexual identity with stark honesty.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In 1983 London, twenty‑year‑old Nick Guest, a recent Oxford graduate, becomes entangled in the lavish, politically charged world of MP Gerald Feddens, his wife Rachel, and their family, discovering love, ambition, and the temptations of an era in sharp, humor‑laden prose.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A cunning con man teams with an orphaned apprentice to swindle a wealthy heiress, but when the apprentice grows attached, the plot spirals into betrayal, deception and unexpected affection in a grim London slum.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Orlando follows a nobleman who, across centuries, changes gender and transcends time, exploring themes of sexuality, identity, and the fluidity of memoir.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Jeanette Winterson's debut novel follows a young woman's journey of faith and self-discovery.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Rubyfruit Jungle is a coming‑of‑age story that follows the life of a lesbian protagonist who challenges societal norms and embraces her identity.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Three generations of Brangwen women confront the decline of rural England and the era’s most forbidden topics—marriage, physical love, and family sexual mores—in a story banned upon publication.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A deeply moving portrait of George Falconer, a middle‑aged English professor, who navigates grief and loneliness after the death of his lover Jim, finding unexpected joys in everyday life.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A romantic novel about a talented woman of aristocratic background who defies Victorian expectations and commercial success while pursuing her love for other women.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A guide for gay men to overcome shame, rejection, and anger, drawing on psychology and personal experience to offer stages of emotional well‑being and tips for authentic living, including updated discussions of marriage and diverse backgrounds.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
When a powerful Los Angeles politician dies, gay Chicano lawyer Henry Rios is drawn into a labyrinth of intrigue, hunting the truth while a young man faces wrongful prosecution.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A French‑American family in St Tropez navigates romance, identity, and the discovery of masculine love on a Greek island cruise.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
The City and the Pillar follows a young man's journey into adulthood as he confronts and accepts his homosexuality in New York during the late 1940s.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In Los Angeles, Mexican-American lawyer and sleuth Henry Rios defends an unsavory client charged with murder, uncovering deadly secrets in a sensational case that blurs the line between law and corruption.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Some Other Similar Books
Maurice by E. M. ForsterThe City of Night by John Rechy
The Dream of the Unfinished by Vivek Shanbhag
Beyond the Pale by Equi
Have a similar book in mind? Let others know!
Please login to submit books!