This book was inspired by ÔMayhewÕs CharactersÕ by Henry Mayhew. MayhewÕs book is a collection of observations on various idiosyncratic people the author encountered or interviewed during his life, and is an important social commentary from the 19th century.
It prompted me to compile my own collection of vignettes based on real people I have come across, who for different reasons have made me want to describe them or comment on them in some way.
After presenting twenty different individuals in ÔCathyÕs CharactersÕ, I extend my observations to twenty different places which have had some significance to me or whose atmospheres have had an effect on me, in ÔPenmanÕs PlacesÕ. This second section has become a bit of an autobiography, and also a travelogue; maybe you know the same places, or they will remind you of somewhere similar.