The Abomination

First US edition. 8vo. Pp. [viii], 433, [5]. Quarter-bound charcoal grey cloth over red paper-covered boards, lettered in black to spine; deckled fore-edge. Jacket design by Chip Kidd.

Author's first novel. A young man's tortured coming of age, from the exclusive confines of a Catholic boarding school, to his subsequent descent into the dungeons of London's gay demi-monde. An alumnus of the leading Jesuit boarding school Stonyhurst College, in Clitheroe, attended by both Tolkien and Conan Doyle, his debut novel was released at a time when Lancashire police were investigating historic allegations of sexual misconduct at the college.

A much-hyped novel by Picador, the book was subsequently described by its British publisher as "oversold" – a euphemism for when hype doesn't translate into sales. "An astonishing, heart-rending tour de force." –Pat Barker, author of the Regeneration Trilogy