A Question of Upbringing

A Question of Upbringing
First edition (UK)
AuthorAnthony Powell
Cover artistJames Broom-Lynne
LanguageEnglish
SeriesA Dance to the Music of Time
PublisherHeinemann
Publication date
1951
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (Hardcover)
Pages230 pp
Followed byA Buyer's Market 

A Question of Upbringing is the opening novel in Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time, a twelve-volume cycle spanning much of the 20th century.

Published in 1951, it begins the story of a trio of boys — Nicholas Jenkins (the narrator), Charles Stringham, and Peter Templer — who are friends at a nameless school (based upon Powell's public school Eton College) and then move on to different paths. A fourth figure, Kenneth Widmerpool, stands slightly apart from them, poised for greatness.

The title of the book had its origin in an incident in which Powell was a passenger in a car driven by his friend, the Old Etonian screenwriter Thomas Wilton ("Tommy") Phipps. Phipps and Powell found themselves driving straight towards an oncoming vehicle. Powell later recorded, "Seizing the hand-brake as we sped towards what seemed imminent collision, Phipps muttered to himself, 'This is just going to be a question of upbringing.'"[1]

  1. ^ Powell, Anthony. Faces in My Time. Heinemann 1980.