A Start in Life (Sillitoe novel)

A Start in Life is a 1970 picaresque novel by the British writer Alan Sillitoe. It was followed by a sequel Life Goes On in 1985.

Synopsis
Michael Cullen abandons his pregnant girlfriend in Nottingham and heads south to London where he becomes mixed-up with a smuggling racket. Eventually caught and sent to prison, he eventually decides to return to a quiet life in the provinces.