"[1]: 21 He grew up in a council house estate, introduced to literature by his father, who was a voracious reader.
"[1]: 22 At the age of 13, he discovered Richard Jefferies on his own on the shelves of the public library.
[1]: 22–23 After grammar school he attended a local art college and later trained to be a teacher.
[1]: 30–31 In 1975, he published Millstone Grit, a journey through the West Riding of Yorkshire and East Lancashire.
In it, he devotes an entire chapter describing how he interviewed William Holt.