The Boyhood of Cain

A searing novel of love and betrayal as a young boy comes of age in the heart of England, from an exquisite new voice.

In the shadow of an ancient abbey nestled between rivers, Daniel is growing up. He is highly intelligent but little understood by his parents, and a secret passion burns inside him for love and recognition. When his father loses his job as the headmaster of the local school, his family stumbles into a rural life for which they are ill-prepared. Daniel’s sole solace is the arrival of Philip, a new boy at school, whom he worships with a confused intensity. Before long, both boys fall under the spell of a charismatic art teacher, setting Daniel on a perilous course that could lead to the betrayal of all he loves.

Tender, brutal, and enthralling, The Boyhood of Cain is a remarkable portrait of a young boy caught between mother and father, self and desire, and obedience and freedom. It evokes the passions and private wounds of youth, and plumbs the turning points in our lives that make us who we are.

Michael Amherst is the author of Go the Way Your Blood Beats: On Truth, Bisexuality and Desire, which won the 2019 Stonewall Nonfiction Prize. He’s a graduate of the University of East Anglia creative writing MA, and his journalism and short stories have been published in The Guardian and New Statesman, among other outlets.