Persia

Persia is the country now known as Iran, where Doris Lessing's father is posted through his employment with a British bank after he leaves the Army in the First World War. It is where Doris and her brother Harry are born. The author has memories of their great stone house in Persia, and the book includes several pictures from that time period.

Southern Rhodesia

Southern Rhodesia is the country now known as Zimbabwe, and is the land where Doris Lessing's parents relocate when her father decides to leave the bank and start a farm. This is where Doris lives through most of her childhood, until she leaves for London in 1949.

England

England is the country where Doris Lessing's mother and father are born, and because of that, it is where her original citizenship is held.

World War One

World War One plays a large part in this...