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British author and former competitive Thames rower Alexander Paul Burton has donated 50 copies of his queer literary works to libraries in Henley and Wallingford, as well as Oxfam Books & Music in Henley, to mark Pride season.
Readers in Henley and Wallingford will have greater access to LGBTQ+ literature this Pride season, thanks to a donation of 50 books from British author and former Thames rower Alexander Paul Burton.
The gift includes 32 special hardcover editions, shared between Henley Library and Wallingford Library, alongside 18 paperback copies donated to Oxfam Books & Music on Bell Street in Henley, where proceeds from any sales will support Oxfam’s international development work.
With a combined retail value of around £1,070, the donation features four of Burton’s books, including three novels from his Silverbourne series – A Clean Finish Wins The Race, Desire at Henley and Midsummer at Henley – along with his memoir, Between London and Toronto: Intentionality in a Gay Expat’s Life.
The Silverbourne novels are set within a fictional Chiltern estate stretching between Rotherfield Greys and Wallingford, with Henley Royal Regatta providing the backdrop for much of the series. Several scenes also take place in and around Wallingford, drawing on Burton’s own experiences as a competitive rower on the River Thames.
Burton, who now lives in Toronto after growing up in Somerset, rowed competitively for clubs on the Tideway before joining Argonaut Rowing Club in Canada.
He said: “I came to the Thames as a competitive rower from a rural Somerset starting point, and I always wanted to write literary work built around the world of rowing, told through queer lives.
“Wallingford and Henley aren’t a backdrop in these books, they are the setting. Pride season felt like the right moment to offer the books to the landscape that shaped them.”
The donation forms part of a wider Pride initiative that has seen Burton gift books to libraries across the UK and Canada during 2026, including collections in Somerset, Ontario and British Columbia.
Published through Burton’s independent imprint, Tremolo A Tiempo Design House, the books are available to borrow from Henley Library and Wallingford Library, while paperback editions may also be available to purchase from Oxfam Books & Music in Henley.
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