A Life Discarded: 148 Diaries Found in a Skip

A Life Discarded: 148 Diaries Found in a Skip
Alexander Masters

Unique, transgressive and as funny as its subject, A Life Discarded has all the suspense of a murder mystery. Written with his characteristic warmth, respect and humour, Masters asks you to join him in celebrating an unknown and important life left on the scrap heap.A Life Discarded is a biographical detective story. In 2001, 148 tattered and mould-covered notebooks were discovered lying among broken bricks in a skip on a building site in Cambridge. Tens of thousands of pages were filled to the edges with urgent handwriting. They were a small part of an intimate, anonymous diary, starting in 1952 and ending half a century later, a few weeks before the books were thrown out. Over five years, the award-winning biographer Alexander Masters uncovers the identity and real history of their author, with an astounding final revelation.A Life Discarded is a true, shocking, poignant, often hilarious story of an ordinary life. The author of the diaries, known only as ‘I’, is the tragicomic patron saint of everyone who feels their life should have been more successful. Part thrilling detective story, part love story, part social history, A Life Discarded is also an account of two writers’ obsessions: of ‘I’s need to record every second of life and of Masters’ pursuit of this mysterious yet universal diarist.

Copyright (#ulink_8bb5a9f2-8e47-504a-a311-588a691db12e)

First published in Great Britain in 2016 by

4th Estate

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.4thEstate.co.uk (http://www.4thEstate.co.uk)

Copyright © Alexander Masters 2016

Cover photographs © Arcangel

The right of Alexander Masters to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988

Laura Francis’s copyright material reproduced by permission. Any requests to reproduce this material should be addressed to the author.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

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Source ISBN: 9780008130770

Ebook Edition © May 2016 ISBN: 9780008130794

Version: 2017-01-27

Dedication (#ulink_1fd5b7c4-2c74-5ccc-860b-3cb9ea1d3ab1)

For Dido Davies,

who was blissful.

1953–2013

Contents

Cover (#ubff207ea-571d-58ea-9511-e55ece5afeee)

Title Page (#ufbc85d94-6afd-5528-a052-5f3fb494cc46)

Copyright (#ua116004d-610f-50d4-a578-16277ec3d865)

Dedication (#u2e6a5bed-7884-5135-9b1e-374eac1c310c)

Part One: Mystery (#uf8e98f7e-dcc3-5e69-8d85-1051a822f269)

1. 2001: The Skip (#u63da248d-d2c6-5b5a-8769-29f55ccdef22)

2. The Ribena box (#u515b5134-7d34-5c19-808b-2650c7f9e66f)

3. The Freshest diaries … (#u7a891041-8940-5b12-aca0-f233a7f658bf)

4. Flatface (#u212dc121-f5ac-5433-9f19-af6f55d581b4)

5. The Torso box (#uca2fd433-b526-5584-a5e4-28e70263855a)

6. A Chapter of curses (#u7491a2ad-ce92-5c84-aac8-1c78bd871dce)

7. Wor (#ub99e41b4-ef88-5233-8e72-918858fa4931)

8. As soon as I had the idea … (#uef87ee50-8f0d-530a-9ae6-c9798bde3888)

9. Nothing is certain (#u251fdf2c-b7a5-5478-a656-f4de506c3157)

10. Ancestors (#u7040fd81-5b81-5429-ad69-1e703360e224)

11. It was easy to get in … (#litres_trial_promo)

12. Two close shaves (#litres_trial_promo)

13. Birth (#litres_trial_promo)

14. A Chapter of celebrations: birthdays from thirteen to sixty-two (#litres_trial_promo)

15. The Oldest book (#litres_trial_promo)

16. Vince, private detective (#litres_trial_promo)

17. The Second stabbing (#litres_trial_promo)

18. Growing up (#litres_trial_promo)

19. Sex (#litres_trial_promo)

20. What a queer set up (#litres_trial_promo)

21. Oh, glorious blaze! (#litres_trial_promo)

22. I have been stuck in this room twenty one years … (#litres_trial_promo)