The first novel in a trilogy based on Liddell's own family and experience, this chronicles English life in the first half of the twentieth century and demonstrates Liddell's uncanny ability to transport the reader into a child's mind. Liddell's absorbing tapestry exposes the virulent antagonisms and snobbery rampant in an outwardly sedate middle-class family. The most unknown major English writer of this century, Liddell is a minimalist in an Austenish way: sharp and funny. But his ability to contain violent passions makes him a true tragedian."" - Harpers & Queen.