John Lowe knew Sparrow for well over 40 years and has been given exclusive and unrestricted access to the treasure-trove of Sparrow's papers which include unpublished letters from John Betjeman, as well the complete correspondence between Sparrow and his mother, letters from Harold Nicolson, Edith Sitwell, Kenneth Clark, Maurice Bowra, James Pope-Hennessey. All the defining moments of Sparrow's life are here: his time as one of London's cleverest young barristers; his delight in airing unorthodox opinions; his controversial election to the Wardenship of All Souls'; his homosexuality; his alcoholism on retirement; and his love of books.