Common People

When Philip Callow's Common People was first published in 1958, reviewer John Betjeman described it as "a genuine cry from a class usually silent in the literary world" and hailed it as one of the best books of the year. The story of a young working-class man from the Midlands who dreams of escaping to an exciting life in London but is torn between his desire for an artistic career and his need to be married and "know common joys", Callow's novel was widely praised for its originality and a...