When we first meet James he’s thirteen years old and has just started at Eton. He’s determined not to be daunted by the rules and regulations and the centuries old traditions of the place. He’s tough and resourceful, quick to make friends but a loner at heart.
‘He was a new boy; tall for his age and slim, with pale, grey-blue eyes and black hair that he had tried to brush into a perfect, neat shape, but, as usual, failed. One stray lock dropped down over his right eye like a black comma…’