Mark Haddon recounts a loveless childhood in New Duston, Northampton

Mark Haddon recounts a childhood he describes as largely loveless, growing up with his parents and younger sister Fiona at 288a Main Road, New Duston, on the outskirts of Northampton in the 1960s and 70s. He describes an architect’s house where adults rarely held meaningful conversations, frequent outbursts from his father and a mother who was often distant, prone to crying and cluster headaches, and who showed little interest in his writing.

Both he and Fiona had recurrent nightmares; Fiona’s long‑running dream involved their father chasing her with a knife, a vision that persisted for decades. Haddon sketches his parents’ personalities and behaviour in detail: his mother as politically conservative, fearful of change and difference, reluctant to follow medical advice and unengaged with books or music; his father as a sporty draughtsman with a short fuse, who set boundaries by treating his children differently.

He says he received preferential treatment as the older child and a boy, adding, “To say that I was the favourite would imply actual liking.” He recounts instances of parental absence during crises — relatives not visiting Fiona in hospital, and neither parent attending her degree show.

Haddon acknowledges uncertainty about some causes, suggesting his mother’s decline might have been postnatal depression or a pre‑existing sadness.

Key Topics

Culture, Mark Haddon, New Duston, Northampton, Fiona, Curious Incident