Life at the Top Life at the Top Life At The Top is the third novel by the English author John Braine, first published in the UK by Eyre & Spottiswoode and in the US by Houghton Mifflin & Co. in 1962. It continues the story of the life and difficulties of Joe Lampton, an ambitious young man of humble origins. A 1965 film adaptation of the novel was made starring Laurence Harvey. In September 2012, BBC television finally broadcast a two-part television adaptation of "Room at the Top" that had been delayed because of copyright difficulties. Matthew McNulty was in the lead role.
John Peter (novelist) John Peter (novelist) John Desmond Peter (1921–1983) was an English literature scholar, essayist, and novelist born in South Africa. He studied law at the University of South Africa, and English literature at Cambridge University, later obtaining his Ph.D. from Rhodes University. Peter came to Canada in 1950 and taught English at the University of Manitoba for eleven years. He joined the Victoria College Department of English in 1961. He was co-founder, with Robin Skelton, of the literary magazine "Malahat Review". He is remembered mostly widely for his 1952 essay "A New Interpretation of "The Waste Land"", in which he interpreted