Cuckoo in the Nest

'Looks like I rescued you just in time. You're working class, and don't forget it. Family is the most important thing in the world. You lose family, you loose everything. That's where your first loyalty is. So you can drop the accent.'

To John Hollis, back from fighting in the Second World War, his son Ralph is worse than a cuckoo in the nest, he is a traitor. Ralph gives up a precious job because all he wants is to be an actor.

In the Palace Theatre Ralph is also a cuckoo in the nest. he is working class, without influential friends, without money to buy him a training in the usual way. There seems no future.

Ralph will not be put off. He is as stubborn as his father. Whatever the obstacle, Ralph is going to make his dream a reality.

Michelle Magorian's acclaimed gifts let one eavesdrop on two worlds, the Hollis family and the Palace Theatre. The theatre echoes in the family with its tensions and humour but in the theatre even the wildest dreams come true.

This is a wonderfully engaging and powerful story of growing up, of learning to make one's own future. It is a universal story of fathers and sons and the supreme power of family love.