At Her Majesty's Pleasure - Hardcover

Douglas, Robert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0340935294 ISBN 13: 9780340935293

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton, 2007

Synopsis

In an entirely stand-alone book, Robert Douglas completes his autobiographical trilogy, taking us through the sixties and into the nineties with his memories of life as a prison officer, and, at the end of his career, as an electricity chargehand driving around the Yorkshire Dales. He tells us of his prison experiences, with anecdotes about many of the most famous criminals in British history - the Krays, the Richardsons, the Great Train Robbers, Soviet spies and many more.

Told in the same endearing and fascinating voice that readers of LAST SONG OF THE NIGHT TRAM and SOMEWHERE TO LAY MY HEAD first fell in love with, this volume continues the story of Robert's remarkable journey of self-education, introducing us to larger-than-life characters on both sides of the bars, and evoking a strong sense of social change as Britain emerged from the post-War gloom into the bright lights of the Beatles years.

About this title

Review:

'Warm, energetic...punchy' (The Sunday Times on SOMEWHERE TO LAY MY HEAD)

A natural-born writer...pins down all-too-human characters in a sentence or two - and a number of times he made me laugh out loud. He also recaptures the late 1950s and early 1960s, rekindling memories for those of us who were there or thereabouts and bringing them alive for those who weren't...convincing and entertaining (The Scotsman on SOMEWHERE TO LAY MY HEAD)

'It recreates stunningly clear memories of a Glasgow childhood . . . I laughed until the tears ran down my legs.' (Daily Mail on NIGHT SONG OF THE LAST TRAM)

A well-written slice of social history delivered directly by an eyewitness (Independent on Sunday on NIGHT SONG)

'If Blake Morrison is the Radio 4 of family memoir, then Robert Douglas is definitely the Radio 2' (Sunday Herald on SOMEWHERE TO LAY MY HEAD)

A grace and assurance that turn everyday episodes into the stuff of romance. (Times Literary Supplement on NIGHT SONG)

With the ending of NIGHT SONG OF THE LAST TRAM, Douglas left us longing to find out what happened to his 16-year-old self, so cruelly cast out into the world. Now, in SOMEWHERE TO LAY MY HEAD, Douglas continues his story, portraying a bright and clever boy who never got the opportunities he deserved, but was still determined to make his way in the world (Publishing News on SOMEWHERE TO LAY MY HEAD)

Exquisite (The Sunday Times on NIGHT SONG)

Night Song of the Last Tram was one of the most moving autobiographies ever penned by a Scottish writer...Somewhere to Lay my Head takes up where that left off...Once again demonstrating an outstanding gift for evoking the atmosphere and emotions of a time gone by, this wonderfully talented storyteller takes us on a journey that he started as a boy and ended as a man (Daily Record on SOMEWHERE TO LAY MY HEAD)

Book Description:

The third volume in Robert Douglas's remarkable life story picks up from the bestselling SOMEWHERE TO LAY MY HEAD and brings us up to the present day

About this edition

• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0340935294
• ISBN 13: 9780340935293
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 336