Beastly Beatitudes of Balthazar B — J.P. Donleavy

Set in the years before and after World War II, The Beastly Beatitudes of Balthazar B is about the world's last shy, elegant young man. Born to riches in Paris to a quiet father and a cool mother and raised by his governess, the beautiful Miss Hortense, Balthazar is shipped off to a British boarding school at an early age. There he meets the noble but naughty Beefy--who is in the process of getting expelled. Balthazar meets up with Beefy years later at Trinity College, Dublin, where Balthazar studies 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. Once defeated, the duo moves on to London, where Beefy searches for a rich bride and his fortune and Balthazar looks in vain for the one thing that has always eluded him: true love.