Trumpet is the debut novel from Scottish writer and poet Jackie Kay, published in 1998. It chronicles the life and death of fictional jazz artist Joss Moody through the recollections of his family, friends and those who came in contact with him at his death. Kay stated in an interview that her novel was inspired by the life of Billy Tipton, an American jazz musician who lived with the secret of being transgender. Plot The novel begins just after the main character, Joss Moody, a famous jazz trumpeter, passes away. After his death, it is revealed that his biological sex was female, causing a news rush and attracting paparazzi, leading his widow, Millie, to flee to a vacation home. The truth was unknown to anyone except Millie; the Moodys lived their life as a normal married couple with a normal house and a normal family, and not even Colman, their adopted son, knew the truth. When Joss dies and the truth is revealed, Colman's shock spills into bitterness and he seeks revenge. He vents his rage about his father's lie by uncovering Joss's life to Sophie, an eager tabloid journalist craving to write the next bestseller. After time, and a visit to Joss's mother Edith Moore, Colman eventually finds love for his father muddled together with his rage. With his new-found acceptance of both his father and himself, Colman decides not to follow through with the book deal. All the while, Millie deals with her grief and the scandal in private turmoil at the Moodys' vacation home, and a variety of characters whose paths have crossed with Joss's give accounts of their memories and experiences. Each character aside from Sophie appears to either accept Joss's identity or regard it as irrelevant. Setting and narrative voice Trumpet is mostly set in London in 1997. Memories of Joss's life give the book's setting a 70-year span beginning in 1927. Most of these memories are set in Glasgow in the 1960s, referring to locations such as The Barrowlands music venue at the start of Joss and Millie's relationship and their early marriage. Although much of the story takes place in London where the Moodys lived, it jumps back and forth between the city and the Scottish seaside home where Millie goes to escape the scandal and grieve in peace. The novel's end is set entirely in Scotland, where Colman and Sophie go to