In the novel by the English writer John Brain “Life at the Top” (1962), a continuation of his “The Way to the Top” (1957), the social life of England in the post-war years is dissected. The hero of the novel, Joe Lampton, a municipal employee of the provincial town of Worley, is unable to work. and with a successful marriage, he opened his way into the society of rich and prosperous businessmen, who disappointed him with their emptiness, the spirit of acquisitiveness, indifference to people and the lack of high moral qualities and ideals.