Morning Star is Volume I of the novel sequence First Born of Egypt by Simon Raven

Simon Raven

Simon Arthur Noël Raven was an English novelist, essayist, dramatist and raconteur who, in a writing career of forty years, caused controversy, amusement and offence...

, published in 1984.

Morning Star is set in 1977 and features a large cast of upper-class characters. The novel follows on from Raven’s "Alms for Oblivion" novel sequence.

Plot summary

The plot revolves around the behaviour of a 12-year-old boy called Marius Stern, who is suspended from his boarding school for hitting another boy. Scientist Ptolemaeos Tunne, with the assistance of Jeremy Morrison, attempt to get to the bottom of Marius' behaviour. Marius has a crush on Jeremy and persuades him to share his bed, though nothing sexual happens.