Hutton Hayes

Keegan's Folly Hutton Hayes

Keegan's Folly is a contemporary comedy of manners exploring the many possibilities of gay love as seen through the eyes of its protagonist, the young writer Keegan Kane who lives and works in New York. Beginning with his lover's many infidelities, Keegan's problems eventually extend well beyond them. As the financially successful author of two best-selling novels written as a result of a drunken bet and best described as gay harlequin romance, Keegan finds himself young, healthy, wealthy - and miserably unhappy now that his life seems to be unraveling. Following his lover's departure to live with a wealthy Long Island financier, the lover (Wagner) writes a tell-all book recounting his promiscuous sex life on the party circuit, implicating Keegan as well. Wagner is trying to publish the book, Keegan's agent agrees to represent him and Keegan's publisher is interested in making an offer. To make matters worse, Keegan is now suffering from writer's block as a result of the Wagner tell-all and the critical failure of his financially successful books. Keegan, seeking to heal his bruised ego, hires a male escort as a stand-in for a new lover to join him at the annual White party in Miami where he is to give a reading. The novel then follows Keegan and the escort, Valentino, through a series of comical scenes in Greenwich Village and on Long Island as they prepare for the White party - culminating in the climactic scene in which Valentino's identity is unraveled. Following this rude comeuppance, matters only worsen for Keegan as he falls in love with the escort following a steamy one-night stand. But all's well that ends well in this comedy of manners with its final scene at the Hopper exhibit at the Whitney Museum. As Keegan's star begins to shine again, the final scene brings the novel full circle. Relying on short, clipped dialogue, this literary novel is spiced with gay camp and wit. Although, as a comedy of manners, it borders on farce, it is an entertainment with meat