GLOUCESTER CRESCENT: Me, My Dad and Other Grown-Ups

Gloucester Crescent is a curving, leafy street, tucked between Camden Town and Primrose Hill, filled with the sound of clacking typewriters and children playing. Unremarkable in many ways unless you notice the lady in the van outside one house and the familiar-looking famous residents crossing the road. The son of Jonathan Miller writes his memoir, written the eyes of a growing child, the story of a very particular family and their circle of brilliant, idealistic and intellectual friends in the London of the 1960s, 70s and 80s. William explores the back gardens of homes of his famous neighbours, attends dramatic rehearsals with his dad, fails exams and is bullied at school, gets drugs from the philosopher A. J. Ayer's wife, and tries to watch the moon landing with Alan Bennett and a room full of writers. But against this backdrop of lively anecdote and hitherto-unseen domestic detail, William struggles at school and at home and his at times heart-breaking memoir is about how we grow up and move on from our childhoods, and what happens when we come back. A funny, tender and moving story of a young boy trying to find his own identity, a memoir about love, life, art and whole of life. Wonderful. 336pp, paperback, photos and other illus.