Aubade

"Not many books by anyone so young are worth publishing, but this one was." - John Betjeman

"A very good first novel written with fine economy, intelligent and extremely moving." - Angus Wilson

"Resolves the mixed and complex emotions of adolescence into the timeless purity of art. Most books about such years come from the pressure of emotional maturity: Kenneth Martin writes from the very heart of them." - Elizabeth Bowen

Paul Anderson has just finished school and is spending his last summer at home before he starts university in the autumn. He can hardly wait to escape his ineffectual father and domineering mother, and a long summer spent with nothing to do but work in old Mr. Swallow's store, which never seems to have any customers, is beginning to look dull and interminable. But one day Gary, a young medical student, enters the store, and Paul's life changes forever. He has been brought up to believe that it's wrong, but he can't help it: he's falling in love with Gary. And all of a sudden, the summer becomes a time Paul will never forget. . . .

Written when Kenneth Martin was only sixteen, Aubade (1957) remains a moving and honest portrayal of a young man's first love. Long recognized as a classic of gay fiction, Aubade returns to print in this new edition, which includes an introduction by the author discussing the experience of writing and publishing Aubade as a teenager and the reactions to its initial publication. Martin's second novel, Waiting for the Sky to Fall (1959), is also available from Valancourt Books.