Boyne's Invisible Furies optioned for TV

John Boyne's The Heart’s Invisible Furies (Transworld) has been optioned for TV by Scott Free Productions.

The deal was brokered by WME’s Los Angeles office on behalf of Boyne’s long-time agent Simon Trewin in London.

"Deeply funny and utterly heartbreaking", the novel charts the extraordinary life of protagonist Cyril Avery across several decades - through early struggles with his sexuality, his forays into sex in '70s Ireland, to life-changing experiences in Amsterdam and New York.

Spanning the years that marked a sea change in Irish history from a country where being gay could result in imprisonment or death, to one which has passed an equal marriage bill, the novel is an "intensely personal story that charts huge societal and political shifts". Called “an epic full of verve, humor and heart” by The Irish Times, the book has already sold in 14 languages.

Kate Crowe, head of Scott Free’s TV division, said: “We are thrilled to have secured the rights to this unputdownable book. John Boyne has once again put his mastery on display by bringing us a wonderfully immersive and gripping saga with a host of memorable characters, and we are hugely excited about bringing it to the screen”.

The Heart’s Invisible Furies is published in the UK by Bill Scott-Kerr at Transworld and in the US by Molly Stern at Crown.