The Voyage Home

With uncompromising frankness and the disciplined simplicity of a poet, Richard Church records his own striving – his own voyage home – towards maturity of understanding and fulfilment. Startling in its depth and insight, yet never without an infectious humour, this book ranges far beyond the daily events of the author's life.

For twenty-four years Richard Church led the double life of hard-working Civil Servant and an artist with a growing compulsion to give literary form to his glimpses of the truth. Eventually, the shattering climax of nervous strain, induced by the incompatibility of office work, forced Church to retire from the Civil Service and become a full-time author.

First published in 1964, The Voyage Home is an inspiring personal story of a true artist, and a lively and entertaining appraisal of the author's many celebrated friends and contemporaries. Not only the fascination of journey and the beauty of the writing make this a remarkable work; but also Richard Church's manifold insistence on the importance of individual genius is a warm reassurance in the present time.