For Want of a Nail

by Melvyn Bragg

Growing up in an isolated cottage in the hills of Cumberland, Tom knows the bitter cold of shooting expeditions with his grandfather and long evenings spent with his father and mother. But taken away from the hills to live in the small town of Thornton, Tom experiences a tumult of conflicting emotions which he must master before he can come to terms with his identity.

304 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1965

About the author

Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg, FRSL, FRTS (born 6 October 1939) is an English author, broadcaster and media personality who, aside from his many literary endeavours, is perhaps most recognised for his work on The South Bank Show.

Bragg is a prolific novelist and writer of non-fiction, and has written a number of television and film screenplays. Some of his early television work was in collaboration with Ken Russell, for whom he wrote the biographical dramas The Debussy Film (1965) and Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World (1967), as well as Russell's film about Tchaikovsky, The Music Lovers (1970). He is president of the National Academy of Writing. His 2008 novel, Remember Me is a largely autobiographical story.

He is also a Vice President of the Friends of the British Library, a charity set up to provide funding support to the British Library.

Reviews

[Ivan Monckton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gruelling and bleak book which, whilst quite hard work, gave a real flavour of rural Cumbria after WWII, and which told the story of a confused and practically unloved adolescent trying to make sense of his life in an honest no frills way.

[Wendyfoleybtinternet.Com · Rating 2 out of 5]

Long winded and flowery
Story interesting but I really wasn't interested in characters except for Grandad

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bleak family in a bleak setting

[Raj · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really didn't enjoy this story of a boy growing up in Cumberland without the affection of his parents. I picked it up because I quite like Bragg's radio work and wanted to see what his literary stuff was like, but on the basis of this, I won't be reading anything else that he's done.

The protagonist was anything but sympathetic and the sort of chap you just want to tell to snap out of it, for goodness sake. In ways it reminded me of Nausea, but although Bragg may consider that a compliment, I don't, since I completely failed to enjoy that either.

There's probably subtle layers of meaning and Messages to be had, but I really didn't find it engaging enough to make it worthwhile searching for them.

[Greet Pole]

I gave up on the sample. Don't get on with the style at all!