Chapter 19 Summary

"About my Grandfather "

Crick recounts the history of his grandfather, Ernest Richard Atkinson, brewer, politician and man of prominence in Gildsey. It became Ernest's mission to create beer of surpassing taste, which ultimately became his "Special." Unlike his forefathers, Ernest drank a great deal himself, but he in time perfected this beer, which would play a role in the death of Freddie Parr.

Chapter 19 Analysis

Like most of the short chapters in Waterland, this chapter acts as a bridge between generations in the Crick history. Tom Crick determines that his grandfather passed the line dividing "Merriment" and "Drunkenness" in his motivation.