Set in the late 1800s, The Revenge of the Virgos is an epic fantasy, mystery, romance, and psychological thriller about ordinary life under threat from the occult.
Britain's most powerful politician: Lord Humboldt, finds himself whisked into the world of the mysterious and the paranormal. His recruiter: Sara Drake, convinces him that they have the same enemy; a man named Gorringo Elgin.
The man in question is the only "thing" that's stopping Sara from ruling the world unopposed.
Now, it is time for Sara to exact her revenge; with Humboldt on her side, she ends up having global influence which culminates in her and Humboldt planning to restructure the order of the entire world and beyond.
In this daring endeavor, where the world is under threat from an invisible enemy, the clock is ticking and various questionable individuals and animals stand to profit from the demise of the world as we know it; including a legendary anthropomorphic jackal who has a very compelling agenda.
Ecxerpt:
On the beautiful evening of Saturday, November 21st, 1896; at the city of Gaggron, a delegation of diplomats from France and Spain enter the Elysium, the private office of the King of Gaggron. The [4] Royal Guards close the double doors, leaving the diplomats inside the large room. The men walk on the embroidered carpeting of the empty room, straight to a table on the other end. The King of Gaggron, sitting across the shiny oak table, points them to the 3 plush chairs on their side of the table. The men pull the chairs and sit. One of them, by the name of Norman Gaultier, states the reason for their visit:
Norman Gaultier: Greetings to you, King of Gaggron. My name is: Norman Gaultier, and these are my associates. To my left is: Claudio Rodriguez, a Spanish diplomat who's here to judge the conduct of our business. He's here to witness the new relationship that we are about to form. To my right is: Christian Cassegrain; he's the one who'll tell you why we are here.
Sebastian English: What do you propose?
Christian Cassegrain: Sir, our country has been in debt since the War of 1870. We need to enlarge our navy and strengthen our armed forces quickly. To do that, we'll need to spend less on other essential things, and that won't be good. Hence our proposal: I understand that since Gaggron's existence you have been able to trade freely from British interference. As such, we'd like to use your large commercial fleet for trading, whilst we'll commit to naval building.
Sebastian English: You want to trade with our ships?
Christian Cassegrain: Yes, sir. And we'd be very honored to do business with you.
Sebastian English: Okay. How long do you prefer to do this?
Christian Cassegrain: 50 years. We'll renegotiate the terms after that.
Sebastian English: I see. Alright, I agree. But my men will set the prices and we'll charge a 5% tariff on all your goods not traded here in Gaggron.
Christian Cassegrain: No problem, sir. Our first request is Australia. One of our greatest tailors needs textiles and they are there. He's already ordered them. Can one of your ships get them soon?
Sebastian English: Yes.
Christian Cassegrain: Thank you, sir. I believe great things will emerge from this partnership.
Sebastian English: I believe so too.
Christian Cassegrain: Okay, tomorrow we'll send your foreign ministry the details of the Australian expedition. Once the goods are in France, we shall officially ratify the treaty.
Sebastian English: Of course. But you must send the draft of the treaty to me first, because I'll need to present it to my parliament.
Christian Cassegrain: No problem, our foreign minister will send it tomorrow.
Sebastian English: Alright.
As the meeting is in progress, 4 of the Palace's high-ranking female servants provide the men with supper. The men eat and trade tales about their personal lives.
Later, the delegates leave the Palace of Gaggron for Paris. Shortly after, the King walks out the Elysium and meets his private secretary: Lucy Litwack (just outside the door(s)), and tells her, "Madam Litwack, send a telegraph to Elgin Shipping. An urgent cargo collection in Australia is due." Lucy tells him, "I am on it, sir," and leaves.
At a flea market 2 days later, a man named Stephen Elgin, who uses his native name "Gorringo" only to those close to him, buys fruits from one of the vendors and overhears the residents talking about the King’s “City Meeting” later. Not far from him, a street magician performs tricks (making bottles disappear and turning rabbits into birds) in the narrow space above the pavement. Gorringo tosses a £5 (about £830 in 2023) note into the man's hat (which is on the pavement) inspiring others to contribute as well. As he's mesmerized by the magician, a mysterious woman stands behind him (whilst he's amongst other onlookers and holding his basket of purchased goods). She commands him to not look back (at her) - as this will cause great misfortune, and instructs him to attend a play on Saturday at the New Adelphi theater in London.
Surprised, Gorringo turns to face the woman, but she's somewhat disappeared. Troubled, Gorringo walks out the crowds to the street; he secures his basket atop the horse and mounts the horse. Gorringo returns to work. There, he orders one of his sailors, a man named Jerry Lerman, to sail to Australia and retrieve the French textiles. Jerry leaves at 3 PM, on the company's largest ship: The Grandeur. The ship showcases new levels of speed: In only 18 hours it's already at the French port of Toulon, fresh from Australia. Jerry, seeing that the man who demanded the goods is not in sight, decides to await him on the shore. 5 hours later, a train halts 660 feet (201 meters) from the Grandeur and from it, 5,000 men disembark. The men enter the ship and offload the cargo. 30 minutes later, Eugène Brégier, the fashionista who owns the cargo, arrives at the port with his business partner: Thuli Zwide (a woman of color with Zulu roots). Riding on a large golden coach requiring 6 horses for power, the coachman motions the horses to stop several feet from Lerman. Eugène and Thuli exit the 20 feet (about 6 meters) high coach and approach Lerman. Angered, Jerry yells at them:
Jerry Lerman: I have been waiting here for over 5 hours and I haven’t slept since yesterday, yet you decide to stand me up!
Eugène Brégier: I am sorry, sir… uh…
Jerry Lerman: Lerman! Jerry Lerman!
Eugène Brégier: Mr. Lerman, I am sorry for not being able to arrive on time. I did not expect your presence until Friday. I was told your vessel could at the least arrive in 4 days.
Jerry Lerman: Okay, but this shouldn’t happen again! Ever! Now, since the ship is here much earlier than you expected, the cost is higher than what it would normally be. [Jerry reaches into his right pocket and takes out a red envelope and hands it to Brégier] Here, take this. That's how much our services cost.
Eugène Brégier: Er, Thuli!
Thuli: Yes, Eugène.
Eugène Brégier: [Handing Thuli the envelope] Take this. Sort out the money.
Thuli approaches the coach and opens its [right] doors; she retrieves a treasure trunk containing the currency (British Pounds). She places the money in a designer bag "by Eugène Brégier" (a bag designed by Eugène himself). Curious, Jerry asks Brégier about her (whilst she's packing the money):
Jerry Lerman: Where did you find her?
Eugène Brégier: I've known her since we were kids. She's really good at what she does. She's very smart; this business wouldn’t have been this successful without her. [Eugène gets closer to Jerry and whispers] Between me and you: I think I need her more than she needs me.
Jerry Lerman: Is that so?
Thuli comes bearing 2 bags and sets one down. She offers Lerman the other:
Thuli: Here is your parcel, sir, and this [pointing to the bag on the sand] is a…
Eugène Brégier: Is a gift from me. You have done my business a great honor, better than you could ever imagine. We owe you, my friend.
Jerry Lerman: [Smiles] Well, I’m glad to be of help. It is not often that I find people with your type of generosity. It would be a pleasure if we did business again. Well, what is inside the bag?
Eugène Brégier: It is high fashion clothing from our company. You can wear them to important events and anywhere you like. There are also some lady garments in there, in case you meet a lady friend somewhere.
Jerry Lerman: Actually, I am married. [Raises his left hand - to showcase his wedding ring] 4 years.
Thuli: Well, then your wife will surely love the surprise.
Jerry Lerman: I hope so. Especially after what happened yesterday.
Thuli: What happened yesterday?
Jerry Lerman: She was upset with me for leaving late as I had to go fetch your cargo.
Thuli: You fetched our cargo at night? How fast does that ship go?
Jerry Lerman: Very fast.
One of Eugène's workers approaches them and stands before Eugène; the man announces that the cargo has been offloaded:
Eugène's Worker: Monsieur, nous avons déchargé le navire ("Sir, we have unloaded the ship").
Eugène Brégier: Emmenez-les à l'usine ("Take them to the factory").
Eugène's Worker: [Shouting] Bon messieurs, allons-y ("Alright, gentlemen, let's go")!
Jerry Lerman: Well, that concludes our business. Take care.
Thuli: Thank you, Mr. Lerman. If we need you, we will inform your King.
Jerry Lerman: Okay. But if you wish to do business with us permanently, I suggest you contact us and leave the King out of it. He has already agreed that we should do business, he doesn't need to know the specific details of it.
Thuli: We will keep that in mind.
Lerman boards the Grandeur and leaves France. He arrives at the coast of Blackpool and leaves the ship to be inspected by the company's ship maintenance crew. Lerman gets on his 1896 Daimler Wagonette and drives home
As he was instructed, Gorringo drives to London to watch the elusive play. He enters the New Adelphi theater and immediately asks about the mysterious woman (to no avail). He decides to watch the play and sits at the back row (on a chair furthest to the right - which was empty). Whilst watching the play (which is about the War of the Austrian Succession), a young girl approaches him and says, "Follow me." Gorringo follows the girl backstage. Once there, she tells him, “She is not coming. You should have never asked people about her. Now you might never know your destiny.” Gorringo is surprised by this. However, as he blinks, the child vanishes. Alarmed, Gorringo leaves the theater frustrated.
Gorringo gets on his Wagonette and drives home. At home, he immediately walks to his bedroom and sleeps. Gorringo struggles to sleep and turns to face the bedroom's door. That's when he sees something peculiar: A black cat with red glowing eyes (the cat's eyes are even more prominent because of the darkness of the room). Realizing the incident as odd, he kicks the covers and approaches the cat, but it disappears into thin air. Gorringo walks back to bed troubled, though this time he manages to sleep.
2 days later, he attends another City Meeting at the Hall. The King of Gaggron approaches the podium. Then, he reveals that the Treaty of Gaggron is in effect (as both Gaggron and France ratified it). The people cheer and clap in a standing ovation to the King's legendary leadership. Whilst standing and clapping [as well], Gorringo is served a glass of wine by one of the attendees; he takes it and drinks it. The King calls Lucy Litwack to the podium to exposit the individual terms of the treaty. The residents once more sit. This is when the woman who served Gorringo wine sits next to him wearing a beautiful maroon dress. Surprised, Gorringo asks her, “Aren’t you a servant?” She tells him, “No, I am not. I just wanted to serve you.” Elgin then asks her, “Why?” She tells Elgin, “You looked servable.”
Lucy addresses the crowd and reads all 56 articles of the treaty. She finishes 30 minutes later and the crowd disperse. Then, she approaches Elgin among the departing residents and escorts him to an office at the back. There, she leaves him with the King. Gorringo approaches the table and sits opposite the King. The King reaches for his leather bag (beneath the table) and retrieves a bottle of red wine. Then, he takes out 2 glasses (from the bag as well) and pours the wine. The King hands Gorringo one of the glasses; Gorringo takes the glass but sees something horrifying: Tiny people drowning [in the wine]. Suspecting the worst, he tells the King, "I forgot that I can't drink. I must complete a proposal tonight." The King says, "Okay, suit yourself." "I must go," declares Elgin, who leaves the office. The cat with the "red eyes" that Gorringo saw 2 nights prior enters the office (as Gorringo left the door open), and transforms into an anthropomorphic jackal. The jackal expresses anger towards the King (after it kicked the door, closing it once again). Gorringo returns to the Hall, but hides outside - where he can see the King and the jackal talking through a crevice. In the office, the jackal asks the King why he didn't "give" Gorringo the poisoned wine:
The Jackal: Why didn’t you give Gorringo the wine?
Sebastian English: You heard him, he said he has a proposal to complete.
The Jackal: You could’ve insisted that he take it home. That way you would have been assured that he would drink it.
Sebastian English: He would’ve seen that something wasn’t right, if I had forced him to drink it.
The Jackal: You know, Sebastian, what you are telling me will enrage my master, and trust me: I don’t want to be on her bad side; believe me: Neither do you.
Sebastian English: Look, I don’t think Gorringo is the wizard you are looking for. That man does not look like a wizard at all and besides: He doesn’t look like he’s 900 years old.
The Jackal: 950 years old, yes. Sebastian, you do not get to choose who the wizard is. If we say Gorringo is the wizard, that means Gorringo is the wizard, and that’s it. All you must do is to shut your stupid mouth.
Sebastian English: Yes, of course.
