In this magnificent autobiography, Norman Lewis recaptures the years which saw him changed from a stammering schoolboy into a writer for whom, after the war, travel became an indispensable stimulant. Originally published in 1985, it is now republished with fifty new pages recording with great affection and humour his time spent in the south of Italy in the 1960s and 1970s. 'A richly eccentric narrative. . . His greatest gift, as a traveller, is to involve himself in the life and dramas of the places he visits. . . One of the best writers and most unusual characters of our day' Auberon Waugh, Spectator 'One of the most accomplished of all travel writers, a foreign correspondent of distinction, a novelist of standing... A delightful set of memoirs and a wonderful read' Daily Telegraph '[An] immensely enjoyable autobiography. . . A superb writer' Times Literary Supplement 'Norman Lewis is quite simply a brilliant writer, entirely unpretentious and frequently very funny indeed' Daily Mail