The drafts for the autobiography were begun at least as early as 1951 when Attlee left office. Quite a lot of the material was not used, partly because it was not strictly relevant to the theme of the book and partly to avoid embarrassment to people still living. In addition the contents of the early chapters were re-arranged so that paragraphs appear in a slightly different context. The draft is not complete and in this catalogue the dates and chapter headings refer to the draft rather than the printed book.