ABSTRACT
Life writing’s pre-eminent concern with human experience means that it often conjures up a whole raft of characters, both central and peripheral, some drawn at length over time and given great complexity, some painted succinctly in a paragraph or two. This chapter engages with different approaches to enhance all kinds of life writing characters. The rich sensory and literary associations arise from focusing on Frost, a teacher represented through rumour and one or two idiosyncratic mannerisms. The brief characterisation reveals Greene’s apprehension about his teacher and perhaps authority in general, and his love of reading. Writing can be a way of reviving characters missing from our current life.
