Synopsis
An English working-class autobiography told by Robert Roberts who was born in Salford, England near Manchester in 1905. With great humour and vitality, he evokes his Edwardian childhood in this vivid portrait of a vanished community. Breathing the smoke from factory chimneys, the children of Salford struggled daily to survive the grinding poverty that surrounded them. Sharing lively games along the railway lines and canal banks, their lives were rich in experience and comradeship. Some had parents who strove for a better life but others were much less fortunate. Robert was fourth of a family of seven, left school at fourteen and served time as an engineering apprentice before retraining as a teacher. He taught illiterate prisoners in Strangeways, describing the experience in his first book, Imprisoned Tongues. In recognition of his work in adult literacy, he received an honorary MA from the University of Salford. He died in 1974, leaving A Ragged Schooling as his legacy. Originally published 1976.
