An epic twentieth-century story of madness, misogyny and perversion – two New York brothers attempt to escape the curses that haunt their lineage.

Hereditation tells the story of the Sloane family. Living in New York in the middle of the 20th Century, brothers Erwin and Maynard share their brownstone Harlem house with their mother, a perpetually ill woman who has recently suffered the indignity of being abandoned by her philandering husband, Ezra. When Ezra dies of a heart attack, a chest is unearthed, the contents of which force the Sloane brothers to look at themselves in a different light. Will they succumb to the depravity that has haunted their family for generations, or will they be the first to break free and escape the madness and perversion?

Darkly humourous, wickledly disturbing, and utterly compelling.

James Smythe was born in 1980 in West London, and migrated to Wales, where his maternal family lived. He has a PhD from Cardiff University, currently teaches in various places, intermittently performs in an improvised comedy group and has recently authored a book about Twitter. Hereditation is his first novel, and is about love and fathers. His second novel will be about serial killers, and his third about God, probably.