Murray Hall

'A riveting and remarkable retelling of a true story.' - SARA SHERIDAN
'A very enjoyable novel, one that can give pleasure and invite speculation at the same time.' - THE SCOTSMAN
'His remarkable life story has, for the first time, been pieced together from myriad contemporary newspaper reports, historical archives and contradictory anecdotes to form a stunning new novel' - SUNDAY POST

New York, 1901. Murray Hall is dead.

A powerful politician, gambler and celebrated man about town, Hall seemed to have lived an extraordinary life. But when news of his death breaks, the papers reveal a secret he kept buried for decades, one that shocks the city and captures the world's attention.

As an ambitious young journalist races to uncover the truth, Hall's life emerges as a masterclass in reinvention, ambition and survival. From Scotland to New York's political elite, this is the story of a man who rose high by staying silent, concealing a queer past that history was determined to erase.

Inspired by a true story of one Scot's rise to prominence, Murray Hall finally brings all the puzzle pieces together to discover the secret of this extraordinary, ordinary man, which shocked New York, America and the world.

'Murray Hall does what historical fiction does best: shines a light on the past to illuminate the present...' - ANGIE SPOTO

'Deeply moving and immersive, Milo Allan's extraordinary novel is a constantly shifting, chameleon-like thing, taking in gender, queerness, and grief.' - ALLY WILKES

Milo Allan is a pseudonym for a collaboration between Milo Clenshaw and Vicky Allan.

Milo Clenshaw is a writer, producer and curator based in Hawick in the Scottish Borders, where he works for the charity Alchemy Film & Arts. When not in the borders he can be found further north, in Glasgow with his partner. He is invested in platforming queer stories, whatever the medium. His previous work includes poetry, criticism and journalism, and his writing often orbits transness both as a personal and political subject. Murray Hall is his first novel.

Vicky Allan is the environment correspondent for the Herald newspaper and has written many books about wild swimming, including the popular Taking the Plunge and The Art of Wild Swimming guides, working with the photographer Anna Deacon. She enjoys collaborative projects, and this is her first adventure in collaborative fiction. Her other books include a collection of personal stories about the menopause, created with Kaye Adams, and a creepy novel, Stray, about a cat. Vicky is married, has two teenage sons and a cat, and lives in Edinburgh.