Beyond Nab End: The Sequel to The Road to Nab End

William Woodruff

ISBN 10: 0316725307 / ISBN 13: 9780316725309

Published by Little, Brown & Company, United States, New York, 2003

About this Item

The second volume of Woodruff's memoirs starts with him having arrived in Poplar in the early 1930s. On spec, he turns up at a steel foundry and luckily gets a job. His digs are with an old couple in Bow where he has to share a single bed (head to toe) with their mentally retarded son. Life in the foundry is grim but William is indomitable. For recreation one day he cycles (then in the days before inflatable tyres) to Berkhamstead to try and track down an old girlfriend. She's not there and he has to return in a snowstorm - it takes him eight hours to get back to Poplar and then he has to get up three hours later to work at the foundry. Eventually he decides to "get some leernin" and his first white-collar job starts for the Water Board. Continuing to pursue his studies, he finally wins a place at Ruskin College, Oxford. How the ex-steel worker became an Oxford academic - and William's description of returning from the war to meet the son he's never seen - concludes this second volume. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR000524394

Bibliographic Details

Title: Beyond Nab End: The Sequel to The Road to ...

Publisher: Little, Brown & Company, United States, New York

Publication Date: 2003

Binding: Paperback

Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis:

The second volume of Woodruff's memoirs starts with him having arrived in Poplar in the early 1930s. On spec he turns up at a steel foundry and luckily gets a job. His digs are with an old couple in Bow where he has to share a single bed (head to toe) with their mentally retarded son.

Life in the foundry is grim but William is indomitable. For recreation one day he cycles (then in the days before inflatable tyres) to Berkhamstead to try and track down an old girlfriend. She's not there and he has to return in a snowstorm - it takes him eight hours to get back to Poplar and then he has to get up three hours later to work at the foundry.

Eventually he decides to 'get some leernin' and his first white collar job starts for the water board in ... Brettenham House! He continues to pursue his studies, finally winning a place at Ruskin College, Oxford. How the ex-steel worker became an Oxford academic - and William's concluding description of returning from the war to meet the son he's never seen - is deeply moving.

Review:

ROAD TO NAB END: 'A masterpiece' INDEPENDENT *A wonderful evocation of a vanished age' MAIL ON S. *'Once started, it is impossible to put this book down ... born writer with an eye for character & a natural way of writing' TLS *'Extraordinarily well written & vividly told, his book is rich in characters, facts, atmosphere & indomitable spirit. It is absolutely fascinating as a social as well as a family history' Eric Hobsbawm, GUARDIAN