the next day, takes a bus to a post-office where there is a working phone, to call London and discover whether her husband is still alive; the novel ends before resolving this question. Inspiration The novel has been described as a semi-autobiography, for example Dickens was kicked out of Drama School "for not being able to act". References 1940 British novels British bildungsromans Novels set in London Novels set in Somerset Novels set in Paris 1940 debut novels Michael Joseph books