The Coming Storm

A young new English teacher’s affair with a troubled student at an all-boys prep school has unavoidable repercussions in this “captivating” novel (Rocky Mountain News).

Lambda Literary Award Finalist

Winner of the Ferro-Grumley Award

“The Coming Storm takes off from a sensational subject to arrive at unexpected heights and subtleties. It’s both unsettling and touching . . . well night flawless.” —The Washington Post Book Review

Set against the backdrop of a traditional boys' school in upstate New York, The Coming Storm is a delicately and brilliantly rendered tale that reveals the most closely held secrets of the human heart. Russell’s award-winning novel is the story of four interlocking lives—Louis Tremper, the headmaster at the Forge School; his wife, Claire; Tracy Parker, a twenty-five-year-old gay man and recently hired teacher at the Forge School; and Noah Lathrop III, a troubled student—all of whom struggle with their own inner demons, desires, and conflicted loyalties. When Tracy and Noah become involved in an illicit relationship, dark incidents from the school’s past begin colliding with the current growing confusion that all of them must face.

“Russell’s story line is compelling, but it is his attention to the evolution of each character’s psyche and his vision of the hidden web of desires and compromises that imbue his accomplished fiction with both its heat and mercy.” —Booklist

“An intense examination of the humanity we all possess and of the power of desire, at once destructive and redemptive.” —Library Journal