There is No Armour

The theme of this particular book (set around Manchester and Cornwall, as so many of his are) is that there is no armour against fate; and the period it covers was certainly a fateful one, ranging as it does from the close of the Victorian era through two World Wars. It's told in the first person, and takes the protagonist from a childhood of poverty to the distinction of the Royal Academy. If you're new to Howard Spring, here is an excellent starting point.