The Boy Adeodatus: the Portrait of a Lucky Young Bastard

Those who know Bernard Smith, scholar and interpreter of the visual arts, will rightly expect his autobiography to be unconventional. No one can help fail to find it extraordinarily moving. This is the story of an illegitimate son and of the mother who decided to keep rather than destroy him. It is the story, too, of a foster mother who loved children, and of her extended family. Begun in homage to both mothers, the book also became the story of a son's search for the sexual vitality of his lost father. Highly acclaimed by critics, this extraordinary and moving autobiography recreates vividly the atmosphere of a Sydney suburb around World War I, and subtly explores the changing times and values of his childhood and youth.