The first volume of the two-volume autobiography. In an extraordinarily candid book of confessions, Anthony Burgess tells the story of a disaffected Manchester Catholic from his birth in 1917 up to 1959 and the commencement of his career as a professional writer. He details his burgeoning awareness of his artistic talent, his relationship with his first wife, his army career and his years as an education officer in Malaya and Borneo.