A Man of his Time. Alan Sillitoe

       A Man of His Time

      ALAN SILLITOE

      Contents

       Cover

       Title Page

       Part One

One

Two

Three

Four

Part Two

Five

Six

Seven

       Eight

       Nine

       Ten

       Eleven

       Twelve

       Thirteen

       Fourteen

       Fifteen

       Sixteen

       Seventeen

       Eighteen

       Nineteen

       Part Three

       Twenty

       Twenty-One

       Twenty-Two

       Twenty-Three

       Twenty-Four

       Twenty-Five

       Twenty-Six

       Twenty-Seven

       Twenty-Eight

       Twenty-Nine

       Thirty

       Thirty-One

       Thirty-Two

       Thirty-Three

       P.S. Ideas, Interviews & Features …

       About the Author

       Interview with Alan Sillitoe

       Life at a Glance

       Top Ten Favourite Books

       Q & A

       About the Book

       Sillitoe and the Smith

       Sillitoe on Screen

       Read On

       Alan Sillitoe on Reading

       The Nottingham Books

       Have You Read?

       If You Loved This You’ll Like …

       The Web Detective

       About the Author

       Other Works

       Copyright

       About the Publisher

Part One 1887–1889

       ONE

      A tin alarm clock shattering the first glimpse of daylight broke into Ernest Burton’s dreamless sleep. At half-past five on May 2nd 1887 he strode to the mantelshelf in his nightshirt and turned the noise off so as not to wake his brother Edward in the same bed. The ironed striped shirt pulled over his head was followed by his second-best suit. Travelling in working clothes wasn’t for him. Finished at the end of the day with the world of fire and iron in the forge, you threw off the leather apron and washed sweat away with strong carbolic to spruce up for the alehouse. Or you walked into the garden to get a whiff of fresh air and bent your back to do some weeding. But on a journey you must look your best.

      He arranged the watch and chain into his waistcoat, synchronized to the minute by the church