Room at the Top (novel) death and his successful scheme to marry upwards. He is reassured that nobody blames him for Alice's death – but he knows this is wrong, and the book closes with him aware of his conscience, forced to live with his guilt and his responsibility for what has happened. Room at the Top (novel) Room at the Top is a novel by John Braine, first published in the United Kingdom by Eyre & Spottiswoode in 1957, about the rise of an ambitious young man of humble origin, and the socio-economic struggles undergone in realising his social ambitions in post-war Britain. A
Michael Nelson (novelist) Michael Nelson (novelist) Michael Nelson (1921-1990) was a British novelist best known for his 1958 gay novel "A Room in Chelsea Square", originally published anonymously. Born in 1921, Nelson was a journalist before the World War II. He was the secretary to publisher John Lehmann during the war and served as a captain in the Royal Army Service Corps. Nelson later owned a bookstore in Winchester where he lived with his then-boyfriend. Nelson married Rachel Holland, who knew he was gay, and they remained married the rest of their lives. Nelson died in 1990. Nelson’s first novel "Knock or Ring"