The Smiler Trilogy

The Smiler Trilogy follows Samuel “Smiler” Miles, a fifteen-year-old boy who escapes from an approved school after being wrongly convicted of theft. Unable to clear his name until his seafaring father returns, Smiler survives by moving through rural Britain, finding temporary work and relying on his knowledge of animals while avoiding the police.

Published from 1972 to 1974, the novels combine coming-of-age fiction with wildlife and survival adventure. Salisbury Plain, the Scottish Highlands, farms, fairgrounds and wintering circus animals provide changing environments in which Smiler learns self-reliance without losing his sympathy for vulnerable creatures and people. The books also preserve aspects of early-1970s Britain, including youth detention, casual labour, agricultural life and communities still partly beyond modern systems of communication.