Published in 1997, this book covers Stephen Fry's early years and his adventures as a notorious but charming thief and liar in the corridors of England's minor public schools in the 1970s. Fry makes no attempt to hide the depths to which he sank, which terminated in a brief spell in prison after he was caught because he wore the wrong sort of shoes. The direness of his escapades in the trafficking of illegal sweets is leavened by Fry's immense and insightful wit and the tender retelling of his first love affair.