In Richard Madeley’s first book he takes a look at the relationships between fathers and sons by looking back at his family and the relationships between his father and grandfather. It is a social history about how father and son relationships have changed over the years and what has caused these changes. This is a thought provoking, sensitive book which will no doubt throw up many questions in the readers mind about their own family relationships.
Richard Madeley is fascinated by the speed of change in family life and how being a father has changed since the time of his father and grandfather. In Fathers & Sons, Richard looks back at his own family to illustrate just how far British men's relationships with their sons have moved.
Richard's grandfather had a childhood of almost unimaginable betrayal and sadness. His family abandoned him as a child to older relatives and emigrated without telling him. He grew up in a miserable situation and without any positive parenting role models yet managed to marry and have a son of his own. Richard's father was aware of his own father's discomfort and occasional frustration and anger, and grew to understand that this was due to his upbringing. He remembers no affection, or endearments from his dad and was packed off to a desolate boarding school in an echo of his own father's betrayal. In a bucking of the family trend, Richard's mother, a Canadian, introduced more loving and demonstrative relationships which Richard has continued with his own son and step-sons.
Both a family story and a wide-ranging look at Britain's evolving social character, Fathers & Sons is a uniquely honest and touching exploration of how our families operate.
Richard Madeley was born in 1956. He worked on local newspapers before moving to the BBC. He met Judy Finnigan when they both presented a news programme on Granada TV. Their eponymous TV show ran for seven years and was an enormous success. Richard Madeley has four children and lives in London and Cornwall.
