Publisher's Synopsis
In 'Chapters of Accidents' Baron vividly recounts the experiences of his childhood and youth that shaped him as a writer and provided subject matter for many of his novels. It evokes the sights, sounds, and aromas surrounding him growing up in a Jewish family in Hackney, East London, in the 1920s. Later, aware of the rising fascist threat, Baron was drawn to left-wing politics, becoming a leader of the Labour Party's youth organisation. Although never formally a member, he also worked secretly for the Communist Party as an organiser and propagandist. His life changed again with the outbreak of the Second World War. A keen soldier, he served as a Pioneer and then infantryman in Sicily, southern Italy, and - from D-Day onwards - in western Europe. After a difficult transition to post-war life, he worked in London at Unity Theatre and as the editor of a monthly cultural magazine while writing his breakthrough novel.
