First published in 1962, The Crust On Its Uppers, Derek Raymond s first novel (written when he was Robin Cook) is a gripping tale of class betrayal. With ruthless precision, and a great deal of humour, it brings vividly to life a London of spivs, crooked toffs and bent coppers. It s a tale of someone who wanted to go and go - who was sick of the dead-on-its-feet upper crust he was born into, that he didn t believe in didn t want, whose values were meaningless, that did nothing but hold him back from his first nanny onwards. I wanted to chip my way out of that background which held me like a flea in a block of ice, and crime was the only chisel I could find. Derek Raymond