Flowers on the Grass — Monica Dickens

Orphaned at the age of fourteen, Daniel is brought up by a distant and cold relative. After his expulsion from Eton his ashamed guardian, in an attempt to bury the scandal, sends the troubled boy to another distant relative in Italy. There, Daniel has little responsibility and a lot of freedom to study art and enjoy a bohemian lifestyle. But when WWII erupts he does not shun responsibility and comes back to England to join the army. During his service he meets Jane who adores Daniel's rebellious nature and falls deeply in love with him.



Unfortunately, Daniel's chance for stability and domestic happiness is shattered when Jane unexpectedly dies. After that sudden blow Daniel abandons his home and work and sets off to find the freedom and happiness he experienced briefly before he was orphaned.



In the Flowers on the Grass, first published in 1949, we follow Daniel on his physical and spiritual wanderings through the accounts of the characters he encounters on his journey.