book details

Book: Sweet Mungo by Meriel Brooke

categories: Book, Fiction, Abuse, Choir, Theatre, Boyhood, Sexual Identity, 1940s, Homosexuality, Sexuality

Meriel Brooke

about this book: Sweet Mungo is about a boy who was abused as a child and became confused about his sexual identity. It is set in the 1940's, when homosexuality was illegal, and I was inspired to write it because two of my friends had a difficult time as young men, both of whom have since died.

It took me two years to research and write, and I hope that it will inform readers and give them a sympathetic view of the problems faced by homosexuals. The masks on the cover represent the time that my protagonist, Mungo, spent as an actor in the theatre.

Mungo was exceptionally beautiful. He was treated harshly by his father, an orthopaedic consultant, who accused his son of being homosexual and Mungo was subjected to extreme aversion therapy. He comes to realise that he attracts the bad and the good of both sexes.

I would love to get feed-back from readers, even if it is not as enthusiastic as these reviews:

• "The descriptions and the dialogue flow like fine wine."

• "THIS LADY IS ONE HELLUVA WRITER!!!"

• "I would highly recommend this book."