The latest in the independent publisher’s series of rediscovered classic memoirs is yet another literary hidden gem. This stylish, pocket-sized hardback, cloth-bound in emerald green with a silk ribbon marker, will delight book lovers before even opening it. Moore was born in 1907 and grew up in Tewkesbury, before the distinct character and way of life of small market towns was eroded by two world wars and the onslaught of mass travel and globalisation.
The first in a trilogy, this is as much a beautifully executed portrait of a time and place as a love letter to his home town. But far from rose-tinted nostalgia, the elegant phrasing, understated humour and acute observations bring back to multilayered life a vanished world, warts and all. Eccentric characters, from the amusing to the grotesque, crumbling slums and splendid buildings, hilarious anecdotes and a generation wiped out by war – all this is deftly conveyed with verve and wit. If you think small-town life is dull, this book will make you reconsider.