In the years before and after World War II, Balthazar B is the world's last shy, elegant young man. Born to riches in Paris, and raised by his governess, the honeyed and solicitous Miss Hortense, Balthazar is shipped away to prep school in England-where he is befriended by the noble but flagrantly naughty Beefy. Together, Balthazar and Beefy matriculate to Trinity College, Dublin. There, Balthazar reads zoology and Beefy prepares for Holy Orders, all the while sharing amorous adventures high and low until their university careers come to an abrupt and decidedly unholy end

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