This is the story of Frank and Kathleen, the parents of the author, Christopher Isherwood. They first met in 1895 and married in 1903, on Frank's return from the Boer War. Christopher was born in the following year. Frank was killed in May 1915, leading his men in a hopeless assault at Ypres. Kathleen did not die until 1960, then aged ninety-one.
This book reveals the family background of Old England, Tradition and Country from which the author felt impelled to escape upon realising both his pacifism and his homosexuality.