Miss Read's books are not full of psychological insights, either in her fiction or in this memoir, but this book is full of loving recollections of a happy childhood. Each of her late Victorian/Edwardian relatives is given an affectionate cameo portrait, from the efficient Aunt Rose (a school teacher) to the remote Grandpa Shafe "he was quite sure that he was always right, was narrow-mindedly religious, relishing the taboos imposed by Victorian standards so that, as children, we were never allowed to play on the beach or read anything other than the prescribed holy books allowed by Grandpa on a Sunday ... older people may remember some of these lugubriuous effusions. The titles of those I remember were "Froggy's Little Brother", "Buy Your Own Cherries" and "Christie's Old Organ" and they dealt with sanctimonious children, usually dying of some lingering disease".
The first part (A Fortunate Grandchild) deals with various family members and their homes; the second part "Time Remembered" is an account of Miss Read's happiness when, as an eight year old, she leaves the city behind and moves out into the countryside. There is a sub-text here when the reader considers how in such a short space of time the planners and developers have obliterated huge areas of beautiful countryside. What Miss Read saw and delighted in as a child is no longer there for our children to enjoy.
