The Alteration (Magill’s Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature)
At a glance:
- Author: Kingsley Amis
- First Published: 1976
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Science fiction—alternate history
- Time of Work: 1976
- Setting: England
- Genres: Long fiction, Science fiction, Alternate history
- Subjects: Maturation or coming of age, 1970’s, England or English people, Singing or singers, Catholics or Catholic Church
- Locales: England
The Plot
Hubert Anvil, a ten-year-old choirboy in the prestigious Cathedral Basilica of St. George in Coverley, the most important religious city in England, is faced with a dilemma. Although he may have very little personal control over the decision made, it will seriously affect the rest of his life. Experts brought in from the Vatican have advised Abbot Peter Thynne that the boy’s soprano voice is so rare that it would be foolish to allow the child to mature in the normal way. They suggest that emasculating him would give him a distinguished musical career as a...
[The entire page is 885 words long]
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