Fires Which Burned Brightly

A wonderful portrait of an age, and of a writer

RORY STEWART, author of Politics on the Edge

Utterly fascinating

DAVID KYNASTON, author of A Northern Wind

Shot through with the kind of depth and detail that can only come from a masterful writer finally turning his pen to his own life. Fresh, wise and finely-wrought

ALICE WINN, author of In Memoriam

As charming and funny in schoolboy episodes as he is thought-provoking in the darker environs of mental health, Sebastian Faulks is always resonant, civilised and sane

MARK KNOPFLER

Sebastian Faulks is one of our finest living authors, a writer whose work has often explored the fragility of human sanity and how easily it can unravel . . . A wise and heartfelt piece of writing

The Times

Intriguing, fascinating and enlightening . . . filled with gratitude and charm, but also full of evidence of the endless curiosity that is every great novelist’s weapon of choice

Nick Duerden, i Paper

Entertaining . . . It ends with a beautiful tribute to his father, a modest, genuine war hero

The Times

Faulks is the benchmark of living novelists, the best of that generation, and still burning brightly

Adam Rutherford, The Week

From schooldays and Fleet Street to the publication of Birdsong and beyond, Faulks reflects on the experiences that shaped him as a writer in this warm and insightful memoir. Rich in literary and cultural history, it also offers a fascinating portrait of post-war Britain.

i Paper