Part 1: Chapter 3, The Harrowing of Hell Summary and Analysis

In 1929, Merton entered Oakham, a British preparatory school which he liked much better than the Lyceé or Ripley Court. That year, also, it was discovered that his father had a malignant brain tumor. The story about how Merton learned this is interesting. He was asked to accompany the Oakham cricket team to a match against Durston House as scorekeeper. Uncle Ben had been a headmaster at Durston House and he and Aunt Maude still lived near the school—adjacent to the cricket field, in fact. Somewhere on the bus to the match, it was communicated to Merton that his father was at his aunt and uncle's home and was very ill. That had been the reason he was invited to come along—so that he could run over to...