Men of the Manor: Erotic Encounters between Upstairs Lords and Downstairs Lads by Rob Rosen

Men of the Manor: Erotic Encounters between Upstairs Lords and Downstairs Lads Reviews

• 
  Rosa, really

  
  Merrow? Yes. $9.99? Ouch.
  
  
  Includes short story by J.L. Merrow, "Brass Rags."
  
  From Merrow's website:
  
  Lord Algernon Huffingham likes a man with a firm hand. Preferably work-calloused, and applied with vigour to Algy’s aristocratic buttocks. But it’s so hard to find decent help these days.
  
  As a footman, Robert’s more used to following orders than issuing them. He may be easy on the eye and flexible in his morals, but will he be able to rise to Algy’s challenge?
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  ♣ Irish Smurfétté ♣

  
  3.5 Treetop stars on Prism Book Alliance
  
  This is a smorgasbord of master and servant erotica, some of it a little bland but some of it quite delectable. Dates aren’t mentioned in all of them, but they all feel rather turn of the century or very early 20th century in detail.
  
  I did a mini review for each story, here we go:
  
  The Maze by Dale Chase
  
  Preston and his “sex grotto”. I could just leave things right there but I won’t torture you in such a way. ;) I’ve always enjoyed the blunt and graphic nature of Chase’s writing and that’s true here. Instead of her typical Western setting I’ve previously read, we’ve got a right proper gent discovering something about himself. Or rather, realizing it is long past time to enjoy himself in every way, something that everyone deserves. He struggles with it, unsurprisingly. Of course, that doesn’t last long, for this is erotica, after all.
  
  3 stars
  
  ~ * ~
  
  Finnias Laredo by Alex Stitt
  
  The gentleman whose name is in the title works for young master Fletcher, aka Toby, a recent college grad. About a year of time passes as this story progresses, creating a dreamlike quality to it. The fuzzy transitions and restrained dialogue reveal so much. These two young men know and truly appreciate each other. It’s beautiful, as is this author’s writing.
  
  4 stars
  
  ~ * ~
  
  Finsloe by Xavier Axelson
  
  This is fantasy erotica dropped right into Downton Abbey. Not fantasy as in some other world with swords and cloaks, but fantasy in that virgin sex is pain-free. Just saying. Anyway, it’s a sweet story otherwise, a rekindling of passion two years after Bryden left and Finsloe stayed and Bryden returns to the manor. The spark came roaring back to life in hopes of a future.
  
  3.5 stars
  
  ~ * ~
  
  Booting by Salome Wilde
  
  While still on page one, I already liked Davie, the narrator of our tale. Though, I will tell you, even his name has been changed to protect the not so innocent, reader and writer alike. ;)
  The cheeky, knowing tone of this is such fun. I was smirking, I tell you, smirking. Of course, with any good cheek, you’ve got intelligence: Everything is given away if you’re observant enough, and I saw all. This was well written and the pace matched Davie’s voice. Oh, and deliciously hot!
  
  4 stars
  
  ~ * ~
  
  Seducing the Footman by Brent Archer
  
  This is how you do a hot little literary number: a relaxed beginning and believable characters that garner nearly immediate connection with me. It’s always fun when the tables are turned. ;) I will say this did wander into the typical, and points off for calling a character a virgin, who has licked and fucked, simply because he’d never been penetrated. I know, I know this is erotica, but still. Otherwise, this is a good, hot and fun, with a small twist.
  
  4 stars
  
  ~ * ~
  
  Folly’s Ditch by Felicio Picano
  
  Tip for you readers: when you’re reading MacIlhenny’s dialogue, do so with as thick an Irish brogue you can muster. Theater = Te-atter. See? As soon as I read that, it clicked for me. The sense of a physical place and purpose felt muddied to me, pretty unclear. On the flip side, the chippy choppy nature of the prose added to the fun, and the clever phrases and a high level of colloquialisms gave everything a lively tone. It’s still rather messy until the end, but then takes a nice turn to bring things up.
  
  3.5 stars
  
  ~ * ~
  
  Manor Games by Michael Roberts
  
  The tone of this story is wonderfully humorous. Master Jeremy and his servant are 23 and 25, respectively, and in a bit of a financial pickle. Well, Jeremy is. Said servant is our narrator, showing off his flippant, direct, confident and smart self. This is so well written and I would definitely read more by this author. Seriously. Hilarious. My favorite in the whole bunch. I need to see what else he has published.
  
  4.5 stars
  
  ~ * ~
  
  Brass Rags by J.L. Merrow
  
  Lord Algernon Huffingham –a great name, one among many in this bitty treat. There’s also humor, sort of a hallmark of Merrow’s stories. Also, please take notice of the blinking “KINK – SOLD HERE” sign above the door. Thank you and goodnight.
  Yep, that’s all you get… it’s all you need. ;)
  
  4 stars
  
  ~ * ~
  
  Mutable Memories by Michael Bracken
  
  This is raunchy and irreverent and I love it. Young men all around, behaving like the free sexual beings they’re fortunate enough to be able to express themselves as, thanks to the lives they lead. This is rife with straight-faced tongue-in-cheek humor. This definitely qualifies as more Downton Abbey erotica for your dining pleasure. Enjoy it. I know I did. This is another author of which I want to read more of his work. And the title, yeah, it fits. Nicely plotted short story.
  
  4.25 stars
  
  ~ * ~
  
  Front Door, Back Door by Logan Zachary
  
  An ok entrant in this collection. It feels like the author was trying too hard to include what they perceived to be necessary details for a story set in this time and place. I like the characters, their personalities all unique and clearly drawn amongst each other. Unfortunately, terms like “sap” for pre-cum and sperm, and “sex” for cock, took it from decent erotica to nose-wrinkling “no, I don’t think so”. In other words, sap is not lube. Also, there really isn’t an ending, it just stops. Puzzling. A short story doesn’t have to exist without any one of the necessary ingredients that make up a good story.
  
  2.5 stars
  
  ~ * ~
  
  Chauffeur’s Hole by Landon Dixon
  
  This is certainly erotica, but not hot, and is a cliché when it comes to the story. Granted, most of these are, but if you take the plunge and make it your own, the story becomes an example of why the cliché exists, not that it is one. Also, I recommend not using “bloated” to describe something meant to cause arousal in readers. Additionally, ixnay on splashing sizzling sperm into someone’s bowels. Just no. I think there’s something here but it was difficult to find amidst those many no-no’s.
  
  2.5 stars
  
  ~ * ~
  
  Master Jeffy Learns a Lesson by Sasha Payne
  
  This was difficult to follow, too many characters involved in scenes that felt unrelated. It’s a shame because the writing is fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously, flitting along with clever dialogue. Without some discernible story, the erotica lost its potency. This was a longer story desperately struggling to make itself known. I would love to see what the author would do to this story in giving it more breathing room in character and plot.
  
  2.5 stars
  
  ~ * ~
  
  Bohemian Rhapsody by Rob Rosen
  
  This is a clever little number played twixt James the butler and George the painter, with the master of the manor playing a supporting role. A steamy spot of cream-filled tea for your sipping pleasure. It made me smile and chuckle out loud a couple of times, and I found myself pulling for these two and a fun, enjoyable and fruitful future.
  
  ~ * ~
  
  If you’re into the numbers, the overall average rating is about 3.5 stars.
  
  If you’re into the experience, this was a mixed back with a few gems and some unfortunate misses.
  
  I discovered a couple of new authors for me of which I hope to find and read more, which is always a good thing. :)
  
• 
  Ryan

  Men of the Manor is a collection of erotic short stories featuring romances between Lords and their servants. For an anthology, this collections features some notable erotic writers such as Dale Chase, J. L. Merrow, Landon Dixon, Brent Archer and Rob Rosen. Each story features the dynamic between the powers of the man of house and their footman, usually, in their lustful conquests. Many of the features are very sensual and go down into the dirty sex while easily presenting the stuffiness of the old era. Of course, the secrecy & discretion between two individuals of the same sex can also play a role in heightening the romantic intrigues too. All the while, because of the number of different authors in this book, the stories can vary in their quality. Some get right down into the sexual exploits, others are slow-burners leaning on the emotional connections, and some are pure camp in their plots that it becomes humorous to an extent, and a selected few have extremely minimal physical pleasures at all, which is a little misleading.
  
  Henceforth, if one likes period romantic fantasies, Men of the Manor serves well in that case, for the most part. Some of the highlights would be from "The Maze", "Booting", "Seducing the Footman", "Brass Rags", "Front Door, Back Door" & "Chauffeur's Hole" are pretty well-written while providing the right amount of fan service, and also introducing audiences to other LGBTQ writers in the process.
• 
  Armand

  This was recommended to me by my manservant, Bouguérie, when he noticed me rummaging about my dear mum's library. I was nosing around for some edifying reading on how to improve relations with one's inferiors in one of my admittedly ill-advised socialist phases.
  
  Well, I'll be buggered! Methinks this book will be ace, though the pensive bloke in the cover looks right dodgy. I feel chuffed that I'd learn more about the abject masses here, so for now I shall give this 7/10 or 3 stars over 5. Toodle-oo!
• 
  Gideon Rathbone

  HOT!!! SCORCHING HOT!!! There is something delectable about rich, turn of the twentieth century English Lords getting manhandled and sexually devoured by their butlers, footmen, and gardeners. The power dynamic in itself is enough to get you hard! Like any anthology, there are a few stories that are highly literary and then there are those that are just so awesome that you almost jizz your pants while reading! I, without a doubt, HIGHLY suggest reading this book! It is a treasure trove of hot gay erotic literature!
• 
  Kat

  Good smutty fun ;)
• 
  Curtis

  It may be a faux pas for the upper class to fraternize with the help, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't happen. And when it happens, it's worth taking note. The Men of the Manor anthology gives readers thirteen short stories that explore these relationships, the power dynamics, and social norms involved. And what goes on behind closed doors, well, sometimes that's just not proper at all.
  
  This was a quick and enjoyable read. Because the stories are so short, I'm not going to review each one individually...it would be difficult to do that without spoiling most of them. But despite their brevity, the stories are engaging and unique. And the heat factor is definitely there, too. Worth picking up and taking the journey if you're looking for something fun to get you through an afternoon.
• 
  Amos Lassen

  Rosen, Rob, editor. “Men of the Manor: Erotic Encounters between Upstairs Lords and Downstairs Lads”, Cleis, 2014.
  A Gay Look at a Time that Was
  Amos Lassen
  When I see the name Rob Rosen on the spine of a book it does not stay on the shelf for long. I love the way he writes and when he edits, I love his choices. This time we go back in time to the country estate and meet servants and masters read about intrigue and mystery and watch money be exchanged for sex and vice versa. Quite simply, this means we are in for a very good time.
  Rosen brings us some very hot and sexy stories all set sometime before the first World War. It is a time of leisure and the threat of war is not yet upon the world. Those with money and class have lots of time to indulge in whatever they want and in this anthology they want sex. Just as the upper classes looks for liaisons so do the needier class with the hope that finding the right person might change lives. Here is a book about short sexual comings together and it is all about fun---reading it and writing it were also obviously all about fun. So someone is bound to say—are the stories really dirty and smutty? To that I must reply that when I started reviewing I got very bored with some of the erotic stories and anthologies I had been sent but after a while I noticed that there is that category that I call literary smut in which the stories, although highly erotic, are also literature and that is the case with Rob Rosen. I do not believe that he would choose a story that does not have literary merit and he is one of the several that I put into the literary smut category.
  And there is diversity here as well—each story is set in a different place and at a different time before the war. I read one review in which the reviewer said that there was more porn than plot and I can only wonder if we read the same book. She went on to say and I quote, “The Lord meets the lad, exchange some glances and some banter, and then they find a place for their one encounter. That's really all the story was, just the single sex scene between the two men. There was hope for more in the end, but definitely not a solid ending. Just a fun, hot little tale. And that, my friends, would be my review x13. All the stories followed the same basic formula with no real plot to be found”. I am firmly convinced that the reviewer not only did not read the book but also did not even see it because none of what she says has an ounce of truth in it. I have never understood why someone would write a review of something they did not read and trash it as well.
  Rosen has said that the reason he was anxious t edit this book was to show the differences and the likenesses between the haves and those that have little or nothing. He wanted “to show not only what makes them so vastly different but also their romantic similarities”. In that he well succeeded and we have stories from the perspectives of both sides.
  I urge you to avoid the negative review and rush to get a copy of this. I am sure that you will agree with me.
• 
  Zombierus

  Have been waiting for a collection like this for a long time. As a huge fan of Downton Abbey, I'd hoped someone would make a gay erotic version of it. Sex between the haves and the have-nots, between the working classes and the elite, is fraught with drama, not to mention sexy as all hell. Rosen has found the best of the best for this one. All the stories are hot and different and highly literary. Looks like my wait was well worth it!
• 
  Booklover2468

  LOVED this anthology!Each story took me to a different time, a different place, all from the same general era. All the stories are completely unique, though equally as hot. And even better: these are some really well-written erotic tales! I'm praying for a sequel! Why can't all anthologies be this awesome?
• 
  W

  Wicked fun
  Overall 4 out of 5 stars Performance 5 out of 5 stars Story 4 out of 5 stars
  Reviewed: 12-07-18
  
  Men of the Manor is a compilation of delightful and wicked fun vignettes . A all male sexy version Upstairs and Downstairs .
  Roger Frisk did a phenomenal job . His voice is utterly perfection.
• 
  Énael Iñiguez

  I've fukked my share of rich gentlemen and even sorta had a relationship with three of them. Fizzled out once I got deployed outta their country tho that's mostly on my part.
  
  This book captures the delicious, heady power dynamics inherent in these arrangements. The feeling of utter potency when you make these loaded bastards fully submit to you in bed when they otherwise exert great influence and authority over the vast public - there's nothing quite like it.
  
  It's eye-opening to read how the 1% might think about us tho. Just sad that it ain't always flattering but my fool ass should have expected it. But yeah, aside from that the stories here can be red hot. And uplifting too, for aspirational and hopefully upwardly mobile hobros like me loljk.
• 
  Violet Vernet

  My expectations were probably a bit too high for this book. I love the idea of Edwardian era gay porn between the "upstairs" and "downstairs" men. Unfortunately most of the tales were very light on historical detail, never mind accuracy. I suppose being a history nerd and a fan of m/m porn doesn't necessarily go together. I just find it a bit distracting when historical porn doesn't make any attempt to use the sexual slang or terminology that was in use during that era. To me, it's so jarring, the characters might as well pull out a smart phone or start watching television.
  
  But I did read about half the stories before giving up, so it wasn't a total wash. Salome Wilde's story was even kinda hot. The rest, eh, not my cup of tea. I suppose it's aimed at male readers and I do think gay porn for men is often more hardcore than my preference. I prefer emotional encounters, swooning, exhilaration, long make-out sessions, hand-holding, falling in love, and that sort of thing. I mean, along with the hot sex. This book is rather short on all that. Even Wilde's story, which was kind of hot, is about two near-strangers who have sex minutes after first meeting. It's just not my cup of tea. That is not to say the book is terrible. It's much better done than similar books. The stories are well-edited, the writing's not terrible, the historical details are either lacking, or incorrect, but most readers won't be bothered by that. Ultimately it comes down to whether or not you like this style of pornographic writing, which is mostly raw and gritty and hardcore. If you like 19th century pornography or the more emotional variety, this book is nothing like that. It's just your usual hardcore smut with a smattering of Edwardian details but really, the stories could have taken place in any era.
• 
  Marsha

  This collection of short stories will appeal to anyone who has fantasies about the man/manservant positions bygone years. They are racy, saucy, raunchy, bawdy and steamy enough to satisfy anyone interested in this particular subgenre of homoerotica.
  
  What most of the stories lack, however, is heart. There’s a great deal of jockeying for position, money, leverage and power. But few stories deal with anything close to love or affection between master and servant. While there is little approaching outright slavery (and quite a few where the positions are turned), there’s hardly any real warmth or tenderness. In one story, “Finnias Laredo”, the improbably named servant outlines his dealings with his lord and master in such clinical and dry terms, there’s no heat whatsoever. The sex comes off as being nothing more than an impeccably performed duty, no different than laying out his master’s trousers or bringing him his food.
  
  For my tastes, most of the stories in this anthology come up empty. Still, they are well crafted and people who like their gay erotica straight up nasty will doubtless get a real kick out of these.
  
• 
  Carrie

  It would not be truly fair to call most of these romance, but a few were close. The stories got better as the book progressed with the J. L. Merrow, the Michael Roberts, and Logan Zachary standing out for me.
  
  In all honesty what I found most entertaining is what was chosen as lube in each story. Beef grease? A "lavender scented oil for his hole?"
  
  One of my only complaints though was the price. $16 on ARe and not DRM free, luckily I had rebates stacked up and there was a sale on. None of my libraries chose to buy it either, but who knows how much they would have had to pay for it, probably around $75-$80.
• 
  Gavin Stephenson-Jackman

  An interesting collection of period fantasies of the intimate relations between the paid staff of the Victorian manor and the master of the house. All of the stories were quite good, though I found the second last one less so, as had far to many characters to keep in mind as a short story without enough background information to understand the various characters. There was obviously a lot of information about the characters that would clearly have been explained in a longer edition.
• 
  Ashley D

  While it was an interesting anthology, none of the stories really grabbed my attention like many other m/m books. While I read each story I really just skimmed the pages rather than actually reading the stories the further I got into the book.
• 
  Laura

  It was okay. Some of the stories came off more as porn than erotica, which is disappointing. Many of them also didn't have a good flow. There were only a couple that I liked.
• 
  Teresa

  3.5 stars
• 
  Clinton Carbon

  Fun and sexy!!
  
  Fun, erotic romp with a feel of historic times. A must read for those of us who wonder about those times when upstairs and downstairs were closer than we knew.