Manchester, 1977, Graham Harris a compassionate, newly qualified teacher, is struggling to inspire his class of bottom-stream 11-year-olds when a 6ft Redcoat soldier marches into the classroom and changes everything - for the children, and for Graham. So begins his campaign to transform these young lives with a passion for drama.The trouble is, not everyone approves of his radical thinking, and dark forces in the staffroom set out to undermine his approach.   'Mr Harris Makes It Up ' is a humorous heart-warming and gritty odyssey through life in a northern city at a time when kids were obsessed with Space Dust, Blue Jeans magazine and the Bay City Rollers – but it has plenty to say about the role of the arts in schools. Born on Merseyside, Francis Prendiville was 'asked to leave' grammar school following too many visits to the Cavern Club lunchtime sessions. He started a gap year that finished ten years and twenty-one jobs later. He taught in Manchester primary schools for nineteen years before taking up a post at Lancaster University training teachers. There he coauthored two drama books before writing the novel, Mr Harris Makes It Up.
Published by: Troubador Publishing Ltd