The Roll Call (Clayhanger)

This is the fourth, often neglected, book of the Clayhanger series, and concerns the young life of Clayhanger’s stepson, George. George Edwin Cannon (he quickly dropped the surname Clayhanger), is an architect, in many ways representing the ambitions held by his stepfather, Edwin. However, he possesses an arrogance endowed by family wealth, and Bennett examines, with some aplomb, the difficulty of bringing up children without spoiling them. It is a riveting tale that eventually sees George in the army and a fitting finale to one of the finest series in English literature.