First published in Great Britain in 2008 by Sceptre
An imprint of Hodder & Stoughton
An Hachette Livre UK company
Copyright © Melvyn Bragg 2008
The right of Melvyn Bragg to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Extract from ‘An Irish Airman Foresees His Death’ by W.B. Yeats reproduced by kind permission of AP Watt Ltd on behalf of Gráinne Yeats. All rights reserved.
‘The Lady is a Tramp’ Words & Music by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart © 1937 (renewed) Warner/Chappell Music Ltd, London W6 8BS. Reproduced by permission.
‘It’s Now Or Never’ by Aaron Schroeder and Wally Gold published by Rachel’s Own Music LLC administered by A. Schroeder International LLC. Used by permission, international copyright secured.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
Epub ISBN: 9781848942479
Book ISBN: 9780340951231
Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
338 Euston Road
London NW1 3BH