How did the formative experiences of a young man in early 20th-century Sydney shape his eventual identity as a prominent art historian and social critic? Bernard S. Smith provides a reflective account of his upbringing, focusing on the domestic influence of the two women who raised him and his subsequent intellectual development. The narrative examines the intersection of personal history with the broader socio-political shifts of the 1920s and 1930s in Australia. Smith utilizes his own life as a case study to illustrate the emergence of an artist and socialist within a colonial suburban context.

Critics and historians often cite this work as a significant primary source for understanding the intellectual landscape of interwar Australia. Readers frequently note the clarity of Smith's prose and the depth of his social observation regarding the period's artistic movements.