The Dog In The Chapel

An English novel set in the early 1960's which ends just as it is gets started (with a follow-up novel to complete the storyline), . I'd call it a young adult coming of age (18&21) novel for the Catholic-oppressed. The author is excellent in describing locales, the era, and church rituals. You want to cheer for these young teachers of middle school boarding school boys. Both teachers fail to observe boundaries with quite young pubescent boys, both as teachers and gay role models. It is distressing to see them cross the line with boys 12 to 14, as they come to accept their own sexual identities.If they had acted out their illicit fantasies on young men of their own age, the drama would hardly be worth the effort to write about. There is nothing salacious described, just the feeling that the protagonists are weak and stupid. It ends on a disappointing note. The follow-up novel (Christopher & Tom and Their Kind) continues to follow the two characters as they return to Oxford in their mid-twenties. Maybe Catholics never fully grow up.

There is a style of writing that I like. I like to learn about the characters in the story as the story line moves along. I also know that in this particular genre of book one is gong to find some sex. I like how in this book you get an idea of what is going on, and if you have had sex, there is no doubt what is going on, but it does not take up a major roll in the story. Some authors like to spend a lot of time telling about every nuance of what is going on. This author does not. I enjoyed this, book (one) enough that I am now on book two. I was not sure so I did not buy the 3 book series and get a discount. I can not promise you that you will like it, but I don't think you will go wrong buying the 3 books. I like the character development, plot development and general story line. You get to meet several enjoyable people along the way. There is some serious tension and you will feel yourself get a bit upset. I read several books a year, I read all kinds of books and I have to say, I enjoy this series of books.

I've read lots of books, but never one quite like The Dog in the Chapel. It is very well written in third person, looking back from present day to a time fifty years earlier. The characters are nicely developed and I found the story intriguing.The plot takes the reader from England to France more than once, and it revolves around what I assume are Catholic teachings and doctrines. (I'm not Catholic.) McDonald uses many French phrases without translations. Because of the Catholic boarding school setting, Latin is also used without translation. While I'm sure it would have added to my reading enjoyment, to know exactly what was being said at those times, I still enjoyed the book.If the story synopsis interests you, I definitely recommend The Dog in the Chapel. I have downloaded book two in the series to see what comes next for Tom and Christopher, et al.

I read the three books in reverse but it seemed to make the reading even more enjoyable when I read the full accounts of what was referred to in the past. I have now read about 8 of A McDonald's books and I think he is a wonderful writer of gay fiction. The two protagonists, Tom and Christopher are very engaging and honorable guys and their life together, lived in England and France is fascinating and endlessly entertaining. I loved the details of Boulogne and looked up the places referred to in Google maps and realised that A.M has an intimate knowledge and love of the town. I now want to go to Boulogne and the South East of France since reading these books. The English and French guys are so well depicted I found myself wanting to meet them all. This is delightful light reading. I couldn't put the books down, they will appeal to gay guys of all ages.

Dog in the Chapel: Tom and Christopher and Their Kind; Dog Roses. Such exemplary writing. The author really knows how to construct a plot and keep it moving. Most of all: to keep the reader involved and caring about the characters. And, as a writer, such excellent writing: I never felt shamed for not knowing something, or forgetting something. I always trusted the author. And a positive, but not fake, ending. Really loved reading these books.

I read this on my iPad and that put it at a disadvantage right off. It is hard to settle into this story. It’s a good book over all but some might be put off by the religion bits and pieces that are scattered throughout. I will say the characters are interesting but they never really grabbed my imagination. I found myself wanting to know more about the boys - and there’s a section at the end of each chapter that, occasionally, was the reward that kept me going!This is the first of, I believe, four volumes and I’m curious to see how these relationships play out. Maybe they’ll be more captivating or maybe not - we’ll give it a try but this first volume is a real test of wills between the reader and the desire to move on.

One of the BEST M/M romances ever ! (I am still reading the sequel) unlike so many novels of this genre, we are spared constant never ending sex, and treated to adventure and surprises along a very intriguing path. Anthony McDonald has created a truly wonderful and memorable story of love, and challenges in early 1960s England that is truly amazing. I had to force myself to stop reading in the evening so I could go to bed. Its really is THAT enjoyable a book....and do get the sequel !

This is a mature love story of young male teachers in an uptight Catholic School for much younger boys. It develops in clever and enticing ways leading you so deep into the story that you become surprised as it concludes. All this is enrobed in Catholic mystery, doctrine and pageantry. This being a clever backdrop for the foibles of mankind.This is a superb book. It will stick with you because it is serious while also making fun of silly behavior.

As a young boy at a British preparatory boarding school, my terrifying headmaster was a brilliant at chapel sermons, so much so that we boys thought he was a better priest (he wasn't ordained) than the local vicar. On one occasion he drew a parallel between two words that were constructed from the same three letters, only reversed, and it revolved around ensuring that we would devote our young lives to discovering God in the manger, not Dog in the manger. I was immediately struck by the title of Anthony McDonald's latest novel, and the way it brought back that homily.For Britain the past was certainly a different country—almost a different planet—in the pre-Beatles era, in the months before The Swingin' Sixties happened… in the decade before gay liberation. Anthony McDonald has set his latest novel in 1962 when the word 'gay' meant only "bright" and "jolly." It was not a good time to be a poof, a nancy boy, and it is to the story's credit that the other word, the one beginning with 'q', never makes an appearance, for I am sure none of the characters in this wonderful novel would have used it (and in Britain then, as now, the 'f-word' is slang for cigarette).For young male lovers like the engaging Tom and Christopher ("not even my mother calls me Chris"), having of the nature of their relationship discovered meant a criminal charge, possibly prison for 21-year-old Tom and certain ruin for 18-year-old Christopher. In fact they would have had to wait 32 years before their actually having sex (which they do, often but never in any revealing detail) would cease being a criminal act. (Homosexuality was decriminalized in 1967 for consenting males who had both attained the age of 21; the age of consent was lowered to 18 in 1994, and 16 in 2000.)In addition to the legal barriers of the period to their burgeoning love, being teachers in a Roman Catholic boarding school for boys aged 7–13/14 is hardly conducive to the smooth path of homosexual love. For a start, Christopher is barely five years older than the senior boys he teaches and often feels his teenage empathy for them is stronger than his role as an adult guide to morality and probity. Tom has started his new teaching job because of an "incident" at his previous school, and he and Christopher are jointly replacing a master who has left his post "under a cloud." In this taut atmosphere it isn't surprising that both in their own different perspectives constantly fear being discovered and that their burgeoning relationship will eventually propel them in the same direction as their predecessor—which according to the terrifying headmaster, Father Louis, is to Hell.The book's sales pitch puts the premise perfectly and succinctly. What it doesn't do is portray just how much this story is about friendship and how it can cross the boundaries of age to bring both comfort as well as potential disgrace. This is a not M/M Romance, not in sentiment, structure, or feeling, it is a gay man's romance, which isn't to say it won't appeal widely to ardent M/M Romance readers. But I suspect many who adhere to the unbending rules of "creative writing"—never head-hop, don't have mixed POVs, preferably only have one POV—will find fault. I can only say that if these "rules" are applied to everything the result is likely to be sterility. If Frank Herbert had stuck to them the masterpiece Dune would never have been written; highly successful authors in the mainstream like Jeffrey Archer, Bernard Cornwell, and Simon Scarrow, to name a few, head-hop between the thinking processes of different characters all the while, and I defy any reader to ever be confused for one moment as to who is thinking what in Anthony McDonald's thoroughly engaging novel.

One cannot help but think that no intelligent young men in this era would be as stupid and i discreet at the protagonists in this story. However the book is not a bad read and captures the atmosphere of a traditional British Preparatory School pretty well (I attended one before most went all co-ed and pc I can still smell the polish, chalk dust and boiled cabbage smell). The descriptions of the Kent Coast around Deal (local to me) are good and the central characters are likeable enough lads. There is not as much explicit sex in this book as some of McDonald's other books (which for me is a good thing as I don't think McDonald does sex passages very well (no double entendre intended) but a lot more on the emotional side of dealing hostility to homosexuality which is something he is good at. If I was to moan I would say that prep/publicschool stories by gay authors have been done to death (Maurice by Forster, Sandel by Stewart, the old novels by Chris Kent, Now and Then by William Corlett, The Deep End by Robert Liddell) and McDonald struggles to find new ground. The female members of staff are so ridiculous they belong in a Carry On film and the whole episode of the painting bordered on the farce to me. It did not stop me from mostly enjoying the book though and I have got the second in the series.

To anyone brought up as a Roman Catholic in the 50s and 60s, this book will bring it all flooding back. In my case, I was 10 when I was caught kissing another boy my own age in the dormitory of a Catholic prep school. While we were not expelled, the repercussions were traumatic and contributed to my denying my sexuality as a gay man for many years. Anthony McDonald captures the atmosphere and ethos of those times in a Catholic institution perfectly: the mixture of dedication and discipline hovering on the brink of disaster is especially well portrayed, as are the characters of the Benedictine monks and of boys reaching puberty: part adult, part child still. The book is also a poignant reminder of how homosexuality was regarded at the time: not just a sin condemning you to hell fire but a crime punishable by imprisonment and accompanied by lasting disgrace. McDonald conveys both the exciting innocence of the relationship between the two young schoolmasters, Tom and Christopher, but also its extreme vulnerability and risk. He leaves you thinking that the chances of the two men, now in exile in France, being able to overcome their trauma to enjoy a lasting love are fragile. Among many brilliant books by this author, this is one of his finest.

I think that's the expression I want, beautifully painful. This novel of forbidden love at a Catholic boarding school isn't what you think it is. It's not your typical gay romance titillation, it's a thoughtful and well researched, plotted and written story of love between two masters, set against the confines of the school. Not only was a I gripped by the story and the affair, but also by the way of life at the school, the surrounding area (that I know well) and the adventure - read it through and you will see what I mean. At times it reminded me of the writing of Edmund White - now there's a compliment for you!

It's regrettable that this and the companion work are available only on Kindle so far. Its setting, the deeply hostile and homophobic 1960s in the still sadly hostile atmosphere of a Catholic school (the protagonists are both teachers). Their affair attracts not just disapproval, but in its day, possible prosecution and the loss of a career. This was Turing's fate only shortly before. Deceit and secrecy are essential. Otherwise, it's a natural romantic story (the term 'natural is used deliberately), well told and familiar in some respects to perhaps older readers in particular. It brings back those times, when all depended on secrecy, and in a now largely lost society. I look forward to more of the same from the author, whose seemingly personal experience perhaps adds a touch of realism.