Chris Campbell · Memoir
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Book cover of English with a little leprechaun inside by Chris Campbell

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Born English. Raised Irish.

Growing Up English in an Irish Family in 1960s and ’70s London

What could possibly go wrong?

A warm, funny memoir of growing up in West Hampstead and Kilburn in a large Irish family, where London life, Catholic schooldays, family chaos and an ever-present Irish inheritance collided in ways that were confusing, embarrassing and, years later, irresistibly funny.

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“A wonderful memoir that stayed
with me for a long time.”
Sarah Williams · Sophie Hicks Agency, London

About the book

English with a little leprechaun inside

Chris Campbell grew up English, but there was never much doubt about the Irish part. His childhood unfolded in 1960s and ’70s London among a close, complicated Irish family, Catholic schools, colourful relatives, neighbourhood characters and the small adventures that loom so large when you are young.

Told with affection and humour, the memoir looks back on a boy trying to make sense of family, belonging and the oddities of the adults around him. Beneath the comedy is a story about identity: being born in England while carrying Ireland inside you, and only later understanding just how much those two worlds shaped the person you became.

Setting1960s & ’70s London
At its heartFamily, identity & belonging
ToneWarm, candid & humorous

The author

Chris Campbell

Chris Campbell is a writer, actor and musician whose life has taken him from London to Hollywood and eventually to South Australia. His writing has included theatre, short fiction and modern adaptations, and English with a little leprechaun inside is his memoir of the family and London childhood that started it all.

It is a story told from the far side of childhood, but without losing sight of the boy who lived it: observant, bewildered, cheeky and never entirely sure whether his family was unusual or simply perfectly Irish.

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English on the outside. A little leprechaun on the inside.

Discover Chris Campbell’s memoir of family, identity and growing up in the London of the 1960s and ’70s.

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