First impressions

This week's First Impressions is from the best-known work of a famous American recluse:

"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth."

There was an enormous response to last week's First Impressions, but the winner, who correctly identified Anthony Burgess's Earthly Powers , is Andy Archibald of Trinity School, Croydon.