A searingly honest and detailed account of growing up during the Second World War. Robert Druce’s account of his childhood and youth is a wonderfully written and evocative story. Intelligent and highly inquisitive, but with an over-bearing and ambitious father, Robert describes, in extraordinary detail, the hardships of life in the outskirts of London during the war. An insatiable thirst for knowledge brings him into conflict with the ordered life of a grammar school. Robert’s genius, expressed through his endless fascination for language, is recognised by one far-sighted teacher. This teacher becomes more than a mentor, inspiring Robert, nurturing his skill with words as well as helping him through some of the scrapes with others who were less able to cope with his rebelliousness. As Robert enters his turbulent teenage years, he describes his sexual awakening with uncompromising honesty. As he begins to discover the complexities of personal relationships, he struggles to square his urge for independence with the continuing demands of his parents. On leaving school Robert has to cope with life in the army during National Service and then a brutal introduction to the world of work. He describes with great humour his confrontation with prejudice and suspicion. Robert’s story continues with his studies at university in London, while experiencing the delights and anguish of his first love. After graduating, Robert decides on a career in teaching. Faced with more hostility from pupils and colleagues, he turns again to the brilliance of his own mentor to help him through his initiation into adulthood.