Billy Casper is a delinquent schoolboy and the protagonist of A Kestrel for A Knave , which is one day in his life. He lives in a poor mining town in the North of England. Billy's household consists of his mother, Mrs. Casper and his brother Jud, both of which he has a poor relationship with and his family may be described as being dysfunctional .Billy is fifteen years old at the time of the novel and he is in his final term of school. He is undecided about his occupation after leaving school, he is only sure that he is not working in the coal mines down t'pit where his brother, Jud works.Billy, before acquiring his pet kestrel, Kes, is delinquent and destructive and is involved in a gang but after getting the bird, he focuses mainly on training the kestrel and cares little about anything else. Billy is forced to steal and lie but this is more due to necessity and not because he is destructive. Show less «