Sometimes you get lucky. Thank you to everyone who gave more help than I might reasonably ask or expect.
Alex Noble, Hannah Dines and Rachel Dines gave clear-eyed reports from childhood. Liz Rayment-Pickard and the teachers and children of Oxford Gardens Primary School helped me to imagine Harry’s school life.
David Remnick’s King of the World and Norman Mailer’s The Fight refreshed a guilty passion for boxing. Bill Webster invited me into the Fitzroy Lodge ring and Rod Robertson adjusted the footwork on the page.
Mark Field talked about fire-fighting and heights. Azucena Durán, Cheryl Godkin-Burke and Teresa Mc Sweeney helped with language. Richard McDougall let me believe I could make people laugh.
Hellen Stack advised on child protection. Scott Armstrong gave me the baseball bat, Bill Noble, the clicky hip. Reg Groves let me loose inside his shed.
Janet Malcolmson, of Thames Valley Police, explained police procedure and Peter Jackson gave the words a final frisk.
Esmé Madill was a generous first reader. Useful criticism came from Philip Hensher and Lynne Truss at Arvon’s Lumb Bank, and from Philippa Collie-Cousins.
John Murray’s critique, paid for by Cumbria County Council, Northern Arts and North West Arts, pushed me to start the whole thing again. PFD’s Sarah Ballard did a radical, elegant edit.
Smokey Joe Productions kindly allowed me to quote from Merchant’s Rock It, by Dennis Williams. Kenny Phillips of KMP did the same for Preacher’s Jump & Wave, by Barnett Henry.
Warmest thanks are due to my agent, the tenacious Alex Elam at PFD, and to the whole kind and ballsy Canongate team.
Finally, thanks to the man who made the tea, paid the rent and said, ‘No Pasaran!’ Andrew, you can read it now, if you like.
Clare Sambrook
Cumbria, 2004