Summary of To Sir, With Love
Ricky Braithwaite, a black engineer from British Guiana, struggles to find employment in post-Second World War London, partly because of racial prejudice. He accepts a position as a teacher at a secondary girls’ school in London’s East End. Through patience and extracurricular activities, he earns his pupils’ trust and transforms their attitudes in class. Meanwhile, he becomes engaged with a young colleague, Gillian Blanchard – a romance that faces disapproval from her parents due to its interracial nature.
Reasons to read To Sir, With Love
“To Sir, With Love” is a classic schoolroom novel by E.R. Braithwaite, a British-Guyanese writer, teacher, and diplomat. Drawing on his own experiences teaching in London’s East End, Braithwaite explores issues of racism, class, and the failings of the British education system. In 1967, the book was adapted into a film starring Sidney Poitier.
Setting: London (England, UK)
“To Sir, with Love” is set in London’s East End. The fictional North Quay Secondary School in the novel is inspired by the real secondary school in Wapping where E.R. Braithwaite himself once taught.
Original title: To Sir, With Love
Year of publication: 1959
Nr of pages: 234
