The book is the story of Professor St. Peter; he has just published his magnum opus and is about to move into a new house built with the profits made from this work. We meet him sitting in the study of his old house, reluctant to leave the place where he has worked so hard and gained so much enjoyment from doing research. He and his family move house, but St. Peter continues to rent the old house in order to escape back to somewhere he feels comfortable.
The book is divided into three sections. The first entitled The family introduces us to St. Peter and his family and we learn about the characters and what is going on in their lives. In the second section, Tom Outland's Story, we meet Tom, an old student of the Professor and family friend, who was killed during the First World War an invention that led to great wealth for one of the St. Peter's daughters. Finally, the third, shortest section is entitled The professor, and deals with St. Peter's reflections on Tom Outland.
I thought this was a lovely book - the Professor was in many ways reminiscent of my own father, being both committed to his family, to his teaching, but really consumed by his research.
Three times published by Virago, I own the middle cover.
