Gloucester Crescent

Me, my Dad and other Grown-ups, the sub-title for the book, Gloucester Crescent, provides an accurate indication of the subject matter of this book.  Gloucester Crescent is situated in Camden Town, a London suburb and is on the border of Primrose Hill. In this area, when William Miller was growing up, lived a large number of residents involved with the arts - books, plays, films and television.

William's father, Jonathan Miller, studied medicine but largely worked as an actor, author, a director of plays and operas as well as writing for television. His work on the television show, Beyond the Fringe, made him famous. The television series, The Body in Question, was another of his projects. William's family had a number of friends who stayed at the house or regularly called in for a meal.

Across the road lived Alan Bennett, playwright, author, actor and screenwriter who was a constant visitor at the Miller house. The Lady in the Van (of book and film fame) took up residence in Gloucester Crescent, finally locating the van in Alan Bennett's driveway.

This is the environment in which young William grew up. He tells his story of growing up in Gloucester Crescent in three time frames - age 11, age 16 and age 18, largely as he is attending different schools. The final section is when he looks back on the effects of his upbringing as an adult.

The book provides an interesting inside view of the sometimes claustrophobic lifestyle in this small part of London in the 1970s and 1980s. William and his friend, Conrad, were often bullied at the secondary school they attended and William spent much of his adolescence learning to make his own decisions rather than doing as directed by his father. William finally discovers his own identity and independence from his family.