The Stamp of Nature (Paperback or Softback)

Peter Harvey is a second year undergraduate in the Oxford of 1968. At school, two years earlier, he had an affair with John, a younger boy, whom he then dropped. Now, John is coming to the same college.

Memories unlocked and Peter faces the issue of his sexuality, aided by his old friend and mentor, Arthur Benson, the school's deputy head. Peter and John meet and resume their relationship, but can it survive the events of a traumatic summer?

Five years later, we see Peter returning to his old school as a teacher, seeking to build a new life. He settles in with help from Arthur Benson and new colleagues Terry Fowler and Ian Palmer.

The school has problems, though: it is stuck firmly in the past. A new headmaster, Bob Jordan, has plans for sweeping changes, but he faces opposition from a cabal of teachers, sixth formers and governors. They will use any weapon in their fight against reform.

Can they succeed? Will they destroy Peter's new life? And where is John in all this?

Chris Cheek was born and brought up in South London. He has strong family ties with northern England and is a graduate of Lancaster University. He and his husband, Michael, have been together for forty years and have lived in the Yorkshire Dales since 1994. After a lifelong career in public transport, Chris returned in 2017 to the fiction writing he had first begun at the age of 17 in 1968.