Sid Chaplin's acclaimed novel recounts how 50 years ago a Newcastle boy slipped into the treacherous waters of manhood. Adapted by Michael Chaplin.

Young Arthur Haggerston has left school in Newcastle in the early 60's with few prospects. A job delivering coal presents various temptations but ends suddenly, and his mother's lodger tells him he must find his own way through life, and not be a sardine swimming with the shoal.

Reader: Joe Caffrey

Producer: Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4. Show less