‘I was the devil incarnate’: An interview with John Boyne

John Boyne still doesn’t really know why he fell foul of the transgender mob. The author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas was attacked on social media and accused of ‘transphobia’ following the publication of his children’s novel, My Brother’s Name is Jessica, in 2019. The book came in for a kicking from trans activists. ‘No matter what I said or did, I was the devil incarnate,’ Boyne tells me.

Five years on, Boyne remains baffled what the fuss was about. ‘There is no hatred in the book,’ he says. ‘It’s a book about acceptance. It’s a book about love. And I think they made a big mistake in not recognising that at the start, because the monstering that I came in for, if anything, turned my mind somewhat, from probably being 100 per cent on that side of the (trans activist) debate to somewhere else.