To Sir With Love

Set in the bomb-damaged East End of London in the aftermath of World War II, Guyanese engineer Ricky Braithwaite is de-mobbed from the RAF to find a cold welcome in a Britain which has turned its back on the black men and women who had fought alongside them in the war. Taking a job as a teacher at an unconventional 'free' school in the East End, Ricky faces a class of unruly white working class kids who test him to his limits. But in the space of one year, their lives are transformed under his guidance, and his own future is turned upside down when he falls in love with a white fellow-teacher. In a story that counters prejudice with personal dignity and hope, To Sir With Love celebrates the transformational power of education in the face of racial prejudice. Powerfully resonant of 1950s London, the themes are just as relevant today. ER Braithwaite's autobiographical novel To Sir With Love was published in 1959.