Young John Milton was shy and reserved. Many people thought him proud. Only his closest friends like Charles Diodati knew of his ambition to be a great poet and understood the Puritan scruples which so often stood in the way of his sharing in the amusements of his fellows. Mary Hobbs paints a sympathetic picture of this boy dedicated to a great task, showing his love of music and art and giving fascinating sidelights of the everyday life of the London and Cambridge of his time. In a final chapter, she also sketches in briefly the story of his adult life and of the creation of those works which have made his name immortal.

From the dust jacket