The Green Years

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A novel about the sorrowful childhood of a boy who, after the death of his parents, is raised in a bigoted Scottish family. The starkly different environment, strict Protestant household, poverty, and religious intolerance leave the boy in a profound sense of loneliness. He finds solace in the only supportive member of his new family, his grandfather, who alone understands the child's wishes in this stifling atmosphere and, as the years pass, the boy's desire for education. For the gifted Robert, further studies seem impossible in this family, which expects him to start earning money as soon as possible, and he reluctantly accepts this fate. It is the neglected grandfather who, in the final act of his life, enables the boy to fulfill his longing for knowledge.