A postillion struck by lightning

Dirk Bogarde's first volume of autobiography, published originally in 1977, traces the first steps of a young actor who went on to achieve worldwide acclaim. It details not only his early stage experiences, but also some evocative scenes from his childhood in Sussex, where his family lived in a cottage in the South Downs. Later came a technical college in Glasgow, an apprenticeship in printing, an art education at Chelsea, and finally a scholarship to the Old Vic - just as war broke out. Other volumes of his autobiography are: "Snakes and Ladders", "An Orderly Man" and "Backcloth".