London on a Beer a Day

Biography of a Novel

Craig Chambers Books

My first novel, London on A Beer a Day, tells the story of a twenty-something protagonist’s ex-patriot misadventures in a punk-blues band in London in 1980 during the American Hostage Crisis.

Readers often ask if the novel is autobiographical. The answer is No, of course not.  I did spend time in England around the time period of the novel. I spent my junior year in college in Leeds, England, returned to The States, and lived in London for a while after I graduated.

In my year studying abroad, I hardly went to a single class but traveled around Europe on a Brit Rail pass instead. I came back to school for finals, spent several days in the library, and took the exams. I was pretty upset when I received a “1” for my final grade. I thought I deserved better than a “D” for all my efforts. It turns out a “first-class honors” in Britain is the highest grade awarded.