Peacock on the Moon: A childhood recollection of prejudice in action and pride stretched too far

by Nicola Briggs

Advisory note. The content of Peacock on the Moon reflects the language and attitudes of the decades it is describing, which some readers may find offensive. References to acts of overt discrimination run throughout for the purpose of completing the picture of life within a family where the head of the household was eventually forced to stand before a Leeds Race Tribunal in 1979. The fractional nature of boarding school life, insofar as it sets family members apart, and the role of women in the home are also considered.

Nicola Briggs grew up in a beautiful Georgian house in Huddersfield, which she loved, but she didn't realise how much until her parents sent her away to a prestigious boarding school at eleven. From then on, the idea of 'home' became a distant dream, a place she could only enjoy for sixteen weeks a year.
This coming-of-age memoir is a powerful portrait of family life, dominated by a charismatic but bigoted and self-destructive solicitor whose anti-immigration rhetoric knew no bounds.
Set in Yorkshire, England, this story exposes the suffocating middle-class existence of one family, revealing the deep-seated racism and status wars of the 1960s and 1970s that Nicola felt pressured to accept. But would she?
This is not a nostalgic look back at the past but a story of reckoning, told with humour, clarity and deep personal insight.

366 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 31, 2026

Reviews

[Alison Pickford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This striking debut stands as a triumph of first‑book storytelling, distinguished by its integrity, emotional honesty, and unwavering commitment to truth. The author invites readers into a vivid and intimate world, reconstructing a childhood shaped by the dual lenses of personal memory and the meticulously kept diaries of a young girl. Through this perspective, we witness the fraught and often painful dynamics between daughter and father—an intricate relationship complicated by the strictures of class, social expectation, and the unspoken rules that governed family life.

The prose is both beautiful and unflinching, capturing an era in which racism, bigotry, and misogyny were not only commonplace but deeply woven into the social fabric. Rather than softening these realities, the writer exposes them with clarity and precision, allowing the discomfort they evoke to serve as a powerful narrative force. In doing so, the book becomes more than a memoir: it becomes a reflection on the generational echoes of prejudice and the long shadow such beliefs cast over families, identities, and intimate relationships.

What makes this work remarkable is the balance it strikes between tenderness and critique, between personal revelation and a broader social commentary. It is a story of one girl’s coming‑of‑age, yet it resonates far beyond its immediate world, offering readers a compelling exploration of legacy—how the values, wounds, and silences of one generation can seep into the next. This is a courageous and compelling debut, one that lingers long after the final page.

[Clara Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up Peacock on the Moon not really knowing what to expect and honestly? I was not prepared for how much it would get under my skin. Nicola writes about her childhood with such sharp honesty that you forget you're reading a memoir. It feels more like sitting across from someone who has finally decided to tell the truth about their family after years of holding it in.

The father is the kind of character you can't look away from. Charismatic, larger than life, and deeply troubling all at once. The racism isn't softened or sanitised and that's exactly why it hits so hard. You feel the weight of growing up in that house, breathing that air, being expected to just accept it as normal. The boarding school years add another layer of loneliness to it all that I didn't expect to feel so strongly.

What I loved most is that Nicola never wallows. There's humour threaded through the difficult parts which somehow makes everything land even harder. She's not asking for your sympathy. She's just telling you what happened with clear eyes and an incredibly steady hand.

By the time I got to the Race Tribunal I had to put the book down for a minute. That's not a criticism. That's just what good writing does.

If you grew up in England in the 60s or 70s you will recognise so much of this world. And if you didn't, you will still feel every bit of it.

Highly recommend.

[Nilton Santisteban · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t put this book down. From the off, we are invited to experience the author’s family dynamic, where things are not at all as they seem on the outside. Nicola encapsulates the pain that children go to when being sent off to boarding school - entitled - but ultimately abandoned by the people who are supposed to protect them. It is heartbreaking to read how throughout her whole adolescence she lacked the only thing she really yearned for - the love and security of her parents - and this contrasted with their utter nonchalance. This book tugs at your heart strings as she portrays the pain of being separated from her family at such a young age. As someone who has been to boarding school, this pain is all too real. We see how her father was so obsessed with showing off his own identity that he completely failed to help his daughter find hers. In my heart I was championing her on the whole way to see if she would be able to put her childhood behind her and find her own identity…and she absolutely did - the proof is in our hands! I was brought to tears at the end of the book - as we are reminded of what is most important in this life: not things, but kindness, love and connection.

[Sona Keys · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve just finished Peacock on the Moon by Nicola Briggs and honestly, I think what stayed with me most was the care in it.

You can feel how much time, emotional energy, reflection, and courage went into writing this book. It doesn’t read like someone trying to dramatise the past or make themselves look good. It reads like someone genuinely trying to tell the truth of their experience as clearly and honestly as they can.

What I loved most was the factualness of it. The detail. The groundedness. It gives the story weight because you trust the author while reading it. At no point did it feel exaggerated or performative.

And despite the heaviness of some of the themes, the book never loses its readability. There is humour in it. Warmth. It moves emotionally without becoming overwhelming.

There’s also something very powerful about the way childhood memory, prejudice, identity, and belonging are explored without turning the book into a lecture. It invites reflection rather than telling you what to think.

You can tell this wasn’t written quickly or carelessly. It feels crafted. Thought through. Lived with.

A very honest, emotionally intelligent memoir that manages to be reflective, entertaining and moving all at once.

[Susan Savage · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just finished reading this book. Nicola Briggs captivates the reader with her wonderful writing style and honest appraisal of her life embedded within her family and her boarding school. Her vocabulary within her writing is so eloquent - bringing life into her descriptions of each situation; each of the characters and her personal emotions. The more I read this wonderful book, I became very 'attached' to her and felt a willingness for her to find a success and happiness which is her 'birthright' against all the odds unfolding in her life. Peacock on the Moon affords a personal account in the not so distant past - 1970/80 which is very very interesting. I highly recommend this book. It's a book which is difficult to put down as each chapter draws one further and further into her history.

[Debbie Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating, frank, and sometimes lyrically written memoir of a childhood with an unusual family dynamic, fractured by extreme right-wing political views and parental distancing from their three children, not only by despatching them to prestigious boarding schools for most of the year. A compelling and thought-provoking read, fuelled by the diaries kept by the author and her father, read and digested after his death, so a strong argument for keeping diaries to help you better understand your life later on.

I copied this memorable quote into my commonplace book:

"We are all living in history, even if, like most of us, you remain a number. I can't help but promote again the benefits of diary writing. Own your present, in your own words."

[Abbey Sykes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating insight into the life of a middle class Yorkshire family in the 1970s. The author cleverly juxtaposes real life diary entries - her own, detailing her experience being sent away to boarding school at the tender age of 11, with those of her self-important father, so we can see the very different values and experiences between father and daughter. All of this, set against the backdrop of 1970s racist Britain and how ultimately the author was able to carve her own path.

[Emily Wentworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Girls can be so mean. Parents can be complex. This memoir is a down to earth account of all that. It does not require or ask for sympathy, yet the author’s wry and thoughtfully crafted account cannot but stir such emotions. It succeeds as a memoir and a social history. It spoke to me on many levels: not all of which may have been intended by the author. Politics, trauma, parenting, money, personality and control being just some.

[Adam Judy]

Peacock on the Moon is an honest and thought-provoking memoir about growing up in 1960s and 70s Yorkshire within a family shaped by prejudice and rigid social expectations. Nicola Briggs reflects with clarity and subtle humour on boarding school isolation, inherited racism, and the struggle to form her own moral identity.

[starlit moon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this as an ARC through NetGalley, and I really enjoyed it. This is an honest & powerful memoir about growing up in a complicated family shaped by prejudice and pride. It’s beautifully written.

[Charlotteanderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not simply a memoir about growing up it is a story of reckoning. Honest, reflective, and socially resonant, Peacock on the Moon will appeal to readers who appreciate memoirs that challenge inherited beliefs and explore the cost of silence within families.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written & so interesting.

Extremely well written, insightful book. Life certainly can be hard & sad Nicola hated her schooling so much. I live in Huddersfield so interesting to read this book.