A gifted young academic in 1930s England falls prey to a dangerous mindset in this novel by “a master craftsman” (The New York Times).
Roy Calvert is young, well-liked, and financially secure. He is also a brilliant scholar at Cambridge, engaged in translating ancient documents related to the Manichaean heresy. Yet despite these advantages and successes, he is prone to an unpredictable, inexplicable melancholy that neither love nor work can seem to overcome. It will pull Roy into the orbit of a rising historical darkness—and leave his friend, Lewis Eliot, to witness the frightening struggle between Calvert and his demons . . .
Praise for the Strangers and Brothers Novels
“Mr. Snow has established himself . . . in an eminent and conspicuous position among contemporary English novelists.” —New Statesman
Charles Percy Snow was a scientist, novelist, and public intellectual. Born in Leicester in 1905, Snow attended the University of Leicester and Cambridge University, where he became a fellow of Christ’s College. Knighted Baron Snow in 1957, he served under Prime Minister Harold Wilson. He is best known as the author of the eleven-book Strangers and Brothers series of novels (1940–1970), which provide an insider’s view on the influence of outside forces on academic institutions. Snow’s novel In Their Wisdom was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1974. He was married to novelist Pamela Hansford Johnson until his death in 1980.