(1967) is Alan Sillitoe’s fifth novel and the second in the trilogy inaugurated by his previous novel,
The Death of William Posters(1965). The “William Posters” of the first volume’s title is a more formal version of “Bill Posters”, the figure of urban myth generated from one of the standard formulations on notices designed to deter fly-posting, “Bill Posters will be prosecuted”. “William Posters”, always hunted though always elusive, functions in the first novel of the trilogy as a symbol of working-class servitude. In that novel, Frank Dawley, eager to kill the “William Posters” within himself, leaves his wife, two young children and a factory job in Nottingham and, after a series of adventures in Lincolnshire and London, reaches Morocco…
1981 words
Citation: Tredell, Nicolas. "A Tree on Fire". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 October 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=14276, accessed 27 November 2024.]
