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An evocative memoir of a Welsh childhood by a well-known academic who moved from a humble background to a prominent position as a leading critic of 19th century fiction. The memoirs concentrate on the period 1924 to 1942. They are grouped according to certain themes: mother and father, grandparents, brother and cousins, schools, culture, politics, religion, sex, and love. Barbara and her brother Bill grew up in the provincial culture of their time, in a Baptist religion with a narrow moral code. The story's emphasis is on family life, with its rich crowd of relatives, friends, and languages.