Nine-year-old Lawrence is the man in his family, watching protectively over his mother and his wilful little sister Jemima. When the three of them suddenly move to Rome it seems at first to be a great adventure: a long drive through the night to the city of popes and emperors. But as his mother's behaviour becomes increasingly erratic, and the threat that had forced them to Italy seems to have followed them there, Lawrence's excitement at his new surroundings gives way to something far harder to endure.

Told in the engaging voice of Lawrence, this haunting psychological novel powerfully evokes all the feelings of childhood - the triumphs, the jealousies, the fears, the possessions, and most of all, the love.

'Heartbreakingly moving . . . Full of restraint and artistic integrity, this is a poignant, haunting and lovely novel' Joanna Briscoe, Guardian

'The road trip is narrated by Lawrence with insight, humour and sweetly erratic spelling . . . The fragility of a family is sensed beautifully' Financial Times

'I believed in Lawrence as a character. His voice is skilfully realised, to the extent that I felt I could actually hear it . . . I cried at the end' Irish Times

Substantial and engaging.
-- The Times (London)
Full of restraint and artistic integrity, this is a poignant, haunting and lovely novel.
-- Guardian
Powerfully affecting.
-- Sunday Times
Kneale has succeeded. . . Lawrence has real presence and his situation is entirely believable.
-- Daily Telegraph

From the Hardcover edition.

This narrative is heartbreakingly moving... Full of restraint and artistic integrity, this is a poignant, haunting and lovely novel.
- The Guardian
[Lawrence] is the literary first cousin of Roddy Doyle's Paddy Clarke... The heartbreak and triumph of When We Were Romans is that little Lawrence is the real thing.
- Literary Review
Matthew Kneale's lovely novel... is narrated by Lawrence with insight, humour and sweetly erratic spelling: it halts and splutters in rhythm with the children's whims and tantrums... the author has got inside a young, over-burdened mind with convincing accuracy.
- Financial Times
Kneale creates an extraordinary tension... the combination of insight and innocence Kneale gives Lawrence is powerfully affecting.
- Sunday Times
Kneale has succeeded... Lawrence has real presence and his situation is entirely believable.
- Daily Telegraph
A skilful, humorous and touching novel about the way a child interprets the world.
- Daily Mail
The strength of Kneale's novel is not suspense but Lawrence's delicate sensibility... Lawrence's touchingly ingenuous language, his tetchy irritation with his baby sister and his beleaguered optimism make him a genuinely affecting protagonist.
- Independent
Substantial and engaging...With consummate subtlety and sympathy, Kneale finds metaphorical hinges between the family's unfolding story and Lawrence's two intellectual interests -- Roman emperors and astronomy.
- The Times
A consistently absorbing read, the work of a craftsman.
- Sunday Telegraph
Laurence's skilful maneuvering in a tricksy adult world is artfully depicted. His guileless voiceonly exacerbates the sense of dread, while its deceptive simplicity hides a chilling exploration of mental illness and maternal neglect.
- New Statesman
The compelling and disturbing portrayal of a child's attempt to make sense of his mother's mental illness.
- Daily Express

From the Hardcover edition.

Like Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird and Christopher in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, young Lawrence, nine years old and the 'man' of the family, brings readers into his world, powerfully connecting us to the drama of his childhood.
-Pat Conroy, author of The Prince of Tides and Beach Music
This narrative is heartbreakingly moving... Full of restraint and artistic integrity, this is a poignant, haunting and lovely novel.
- The Guardian
[Lawrence] is the literary first cousin of Roddy Doyle's Paddy Clarke... The heartbreak and triumph of When We Were Romans is that little Lawrence is the real thing.
- Literary Review
Matthew Kneale's lovely novel... is narrated by Lawrence with insight, humour and sweetly erratic spelling: it halts and splutters in rhythm with the children's whims and tantrums... the author has got inside a young, over-burdened mind with convincing accuracy.
- Financial Times
Kneale creates an extraordinary tension... the combination of insight and innocence Kneale gives Lawrence is powerfully affecting.
- Sunday Times
Kneale has succeeded... Lawrence has real presence and his situation is entirely believable.
- Daily Telegraph
A skilful, humorous and touching novel about the way a child interprets the world.
- Daily Mail
The strength of Kneale's novel is not suspense but Lawrence's delicate sensibility... Lawrence's touchingly ingenuous language, his tetchy irritation with his baby sister and his beleaguered optimism make him a genuinely affecting protagonist.
- Independent
Substantial and engaging...With consummate subtlety and sympathy, Kneale findsmetaphorical hinges between the family's unfolding story and Lawrence's two intellectual interests -- Roman emperors and astronomy.
- The Times
A consistently absorbing read, the work of a craftsman.
- Sunday Telegraph
Laurence's skilful maneuvering in a tricksy adult world is artfully depicted. His guileless voice only exacerbates the sense of dread, while its deceptive simplicity hides a chilling exploration of mental illness and maternal neglect.
- New Statesman
The compelling and disturbing portrayal of a child's attempt to make sense of his mother's mental illness.
- Daily Express

From the Hardcover edition.

Full of restraint and artistic integrity, this is a poignant, haunting and lovely novel.
-- Guardian

[Lawrence] is the literary first cousin of Roddy Doyle's Paddy Clarke . . . The heartbreak and triumph of When We Were Romans is that little Lawrence is the real thing. -- Literary Review

Matthew Kneale's lovely novel . . . is narrated by Lawrence with insight, humor and sweetly erratic spelling: it halts and splutters in rhythm with the children's whims and tantrums . . . the author has got inside a young, overburdened mind with convincing accuracy. -- Financial Times

The strength of Kneale's novel is not suspense but Lawrence's delicate sensibility . . . Lawrence's touchingly ingenuous language, his tetchy irritation with his baby sister, and his beleaguered optimism make him a genuinely affecting protagonist. -- Independent
Substantial and engaging . . .With consummate subtlety and sympathy, Kneale finds metaphorical hinges between the family's unfolding story and Lawrence's two intellectual interests--Roman emperors and astronomy. -- The Times

Lawrence's skillful maneuvering in a tricksy adult world is artfully depicted. His guileless voice only exacerbates the sense of dread, while its deceptive simplicity hides a chilling exploration of mental illness and maternal neglect. -- New Statesman

Extraordinary.... Enemies might be real or they might be imagined, but what's absolutely true for Lawrence is his unshakable belief in the conspiracy of his and his mother's love. -- The Washington Post Book World
If you enjoyed The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, definitely pick up When We Were Romans, -- The St. Petersburg Times
How much Lawrence understands of his family's tribulations is the book's central, poignant mystery; the consummate artistry with which Kneale captures this child's voice, its chief pleasure. -- Entertainment Weekly
Full of restraint and artistic integrity, this is a poignant, haunting and lovely novel. -- The Guardian
[Lawrence] is the literary first cousin of Roddy Doyle's Paddy Clarke . . . The heartbreak and triumph of When We Were Romans is that little Lawrence is the real thing. -- Literary Review
Matthew Kneale's lovely novel . . . is narrated by Lawrence with insight, humor and sweetly erratic spelling: it halts and splutters in rhythm with the children's whims and tantrums . . . the author has got inside a young, overburdened mind with convincing accuracy. -- Financial Times
The strength of Kneale's novel is not suspense but Lawrence's delicate sensibility . . . Lawrence's touchingly ingenuous language, his tetchy irritation with his baby sister, and his beleaguered optimism make him a genuinely affecting protagonist. -- Independent
Substantial and engaging . . .With consummate subtlety and sympathy, Kneale finds metaphorical hinges between the family's unfolding story and Lawrence's two intellectual interests-Roman emperors and astronomy. -- The Times
Lawrence's skillfulmaneuvering in a tricksy adult world is artfully depicted. His guileless voice only exacerbates the sense of dread, while its deceptive simplicity hides a chilling exploration of mental illness and maternal neglect. -- New Statesman

Matthew Kneale won the 2000 Whitbread Book of the Year Award with English Passengers and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He is also the author of Small Crimes in an Age of Abundance, Inside Rose's Kingdom, Sweet Thames (winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize) and Mr. Foreigner (winner of the Somerset Maugham Prize). He lives in Rome with his wife and two children.