EDITOR’S CHOICE
A beautifully written, emotionally rich novel that captures forbidden love with lyrical prose and historical depth—heartbreaking, tender, and unforgettable.
Stephanie Cowell’s The Boy in the Rain is a tender and haunting love story set against the restrained and often repressive backdrop of Edwardian England. With lyrical prose and a painter’s eye for detail, Cowell crafts a novel that feels both timeless and deeply rooted in its historical moment.
At the heart of the story is Robbie, a sensitive young artist whose life changes when he meets the older, emotionally scarred Anton. Their romance unfolds delicately, charged with both the passion of new love and the quiet dread of a society that will never accept them. Cowell handles their relationship with remarkable nuance, never reducing it to mere melodrama. Instead, she allows the reader to live alongside the couple — through moments of joy, longing, and inevitable fear.
The supporting characters, particularly Anton’s former wife, are drawn with equal care, adding layers of emotional complexity. Cowell’s depiction of the early 1900s is immersive, with its smoky art studios, reformist circles, and suffocating social expectations. One can feel the ever-present threat of discovery looming over Robbie and Anton’s lives, heightening the novel’s emotional stakes.
What elevates The Boy in the Rain is Cowell’s prose — poetic yet grounded, full of empathy and raw beauty. It’s a book that lingers long after the final page, not just for the tragedy it portrays, but for the quiet resilience of love in the face of cruelty.
Highly recommended for those who appreciate historical fiction with soul and sincerity.
