The Gentleman of the Road

The book introduces us to the kind of teenager we might not notice if he passed us on the street, unless, of course, we noted his presence in order to avoid him. He is Kevin Stonewell and he is almost universally despised because of his ill-kempt appearance and the stench he frequently disperses as he walks along. He is bullied by those who enjoy bullying, kicked and battered and generally abused. Yet he has his dreams: the beautiful and classy Amanda Drayton is one of them. But before he can do anything about those dreams he’s got to climb above his status, and The Gentleman of the Road tells us of the start of that climb. He runs away from home to become a tramp, a hobo, because he sees that as a step up, and his mother is accused of his murder (although there is no body). The arresting officer (married, importantly, to Kerry who prefers to share her bed with other women) is slowly driven mad by a combination of circumstances. And the aforementioned Kerry takes him under her wing…