Drawn from Memory

When he was in his seventies, Shephardy the distinguished illustrator of Winnie-the-Pooh and other classic childrens books turned his skills to this memoir of a childhood in 1880s London. His mother died young and his beloved brother Cyril was killed in World War I, so this book, which derives from stories Shepard told his own children, has the poignant and nostalgic feel of a lost golden age. Shepard writes and draws his cildhood world as a child would see it, picking out odd and amusing details, juxtaposing the trivial and the serious, bringing to the force what a child would think important. While the immediate focus is Ernest and his brother, were also shown holidays, visits, treats and festivities, the family and its wider social circle, notably the strait-laced Victorian aunts, and the social fabric which surrounds them all, its streets, tradespeople, vehicles and local and national happenings. We also glimpse the beginnings of Shepard's interest in art. Illustrated throughout with Shepard's witty drawings, this is a classic account of a vanished world and a reminder of the value of drawing on the childhood experiences buried in all of us. (Kirkus UK)