 Chatwin had hoped to read Classics at Merton College , Oxford , but the end of National Service in the United Kingdom meant there was more competition for university places . He was forced to consider other options . His parents discouraged the ideas he offered — an acting career or work in the Colonial Service in Kenya . Instead , Chatwin 's father asked one of his clients for a letter of introduction to the auction house Sotheby 's . An interview was arranged , and Chatwin secured a job there . 
