Diary of a Nobody

[My Friend Jack]

One of my favourite books - ever - this was first serialised in Punch magazine, and then published in book form in 1892.

"An office clerk and upright family man in a dull 1880s London suburb, Mr Pooter was nonetheless confident that others would find his life interesting. His confidence was not misplaced. The Diary of a Nobody has never been out of print.

In it the Grossmith brothers not only created an immortal comic character but produced a clever satire of their society. The diary is a wonderful portrait of the class system and the inherent snobbishness of the suburban middle classes. It sends up contemporary crazes for Aestheticism, spiritualism and bicycling, as well as the fashion for publishing diaries by anybody and everybody."

More than 100 years on, it's still relevant, funny and well worth tracking down.

[Claire]

I love this one too - the way the characters are so ridiculous and yet so absolutely recognisable and true to life. Whatever you think of Charles Pooter, you're sure to know people just like him, (and even see a bit of yourself in him too :eek: ) Part of the magic of the diary for me is although he's a complete, pompous buffoon, and doesn't realise it - at times I feel genuine emotion and pity for him, especially in his dealing with Lupin, his son.

Is there any mileage in the theory that Pooter is a literary forerunner to David Brent??

[My Friend Jack]

Good point, Claire, I hadn't thought of that. It was Henry, though, not Charles!

[Claire]

Was he really called Henry?? How very odd - I was so sure he was a "Charles" :confused:

But I'll have to take your word for it, as I've lent my copy to someone, so I can't check (must try and remember who has it - I'm all keen to re-read it now! :) )

[My Friend Jack]

Not a lot of difference in my view - anyone called Henry could easily be a Charles!

[Claire]

:D I like that approach! He could even have been a George or a Harold, based on that theory :)

Interesting how a name has the potential to change how you view a character though, isn't it. Lupin wouldn't have been quite the same if he'd been called Albert or Fred, would he?

[Rootytootytoo]

Did you notice Daisy Mutlar's appearance in The Eyre Affair?

[Claire]

Sounds intriguing! I'm afraid I don't know anything about the Eyre Affair, though. Does it have any connection to a certain Jane of that name?? And how does Daisy Mutlar fit in to it. Do tell us a bit more....

You've just reminded me, though, that I once read a companion novel to Diary of a Nobody, written much more recently, which was Carrie Pooters Diary. I can't remember the title though. It was very funny, though - and covered the same time period as the original from a different perspective. The funniest bit was learning the True Story of various pages of Pooters diary ended up being thrown in the fire.....All was not as it seemed!

Highly recommended to anyone who enjoyed the original. (If you can find out the title, of course!)

[Claire]

A quick search on Amazon reveals that the book was called - with mind-blowing originality....."Mrs Pooters Diary" - by Keith Waterhouse.

But it's currently out of print and the only way you can buy it on Amazon is second hand, for £34 or more.....

It's good....but it's not THAT good :rolleyes:

[My Friend Jack]

There's not even a copy on eBay, either.

[Rootytootytoo]

One to look out for in second hand shops then, I'd love to read that.

The Eyre Affair is the first of a series of books by Jasper Fforde about an alternative world were British pop culture is obsessed with literature... existing parallel to this is a book-world inhabited by fictional characters including, of course, Jane Eyre. Worth reading to try and spot all the references...

Anyway! Daisy Mutlar turns up as a bit of a cow ex-girlfriend of a protagonist and the name was bothering me for ages as I knew I recognised it....

[Jassie]

A quick search on Amazon reveals that the book was called - with mind-blowing originality....."Mrs Pooters Diary" - by Keith Waterhouse.

But it's currently out of print and the only way you can buy it on Amazon is second hand, for £34 or more.....

For a rare out of print book that is expensive to buy but you still want to read, try your local library catalogue; most are online these days. Then expand the search to your county library service, that should be online too. I just checked Hampshire's and they've got five copies of 'Mrs Pooter's Diary'. Inter-library loans are invaluable in this situation.

Just a bit of 'stick my nose in advice' from a library lover. Happy hunting. :)

[Claire]

Wise advice, indeed! In fact that's where the original copy I read came from.

Greetings, Jassie, from another devoted library lover :)

"The Eyre Affair" sounds fascinating, Rootytootytoo....will keep a look out for that as well.

[megustaleer]

The Eyre Affair takes a bit of getting used to...it's rather like a parallel universe, or perhaps the future without most of the technology we are used to. Anyway, once you get into the right mindset it is great fun, well worth perervering. And what they do for Charlotte's book is a great improvement!

Read 'Diary of a Nobody' for one of my bookgroups three months ago. Again, but for different reasons I found it difficult to get into, but became quite fond of Pooter after a while. In fact became a little envious of his small concerns: He is content in his marriage & happy looking after his home, in a secure job, and appreciated by his boss. His only serious worry is Lupin, and like most kids he turns out fairly OK in the end.

[Simple_simon]

It's difficult to see why anyone would find Diary of a Nobody inaccessible. This is one of the great comic works in English literature, from a time when Punch was funny, that is, some time ago. It even comes with illustrations so it is hard to see why 'getting it' should be a problem. Read, enjoy; the only subtext is that he takes his small concerns more seriously than anyone else, and, though he thinks he has a sense of humour, what Pooter lacks is self awareness. To say any more would be taking a sledgehammer to crack a walnut. Keith Waterhouse managed to make a volume of the supposed diary of Mrs Pooter funny as well, and it's worth a read.

[Hilary]

I loved Mr Pooter. I loved the way you, the reader, could see him as his friends and family do, but you could also see how he saw himself. The two just didn't match up at all. Bless him, he had no idea!

[Simple_simon]

It was definitely Charles Pooter.

[Grammath]

I guess not all the jokes in Diary of a Nobody have aged that well, but the theme certainly hasn't: there are still Charles Pooters everywhere who don't understand their offspring, think they're more amusing than they are, have trouble with workmen and modest aspirations in their dull jobs. This is the timeless element of Diary of a Nobody; that there's rather more of Mr Pooter in all of us than we'd like to admit.

It's a short book and I'd recommend it.

[Hilary]

Me too! Great book.

[My Friend Jack]

It's taken me 6 years to spot that there has been a difference of opinion over the Christian name of the subject of this book. It's possible that I was wrong, and a quick look on the internet would suggest that his name was Charles, but then again a search for "Henry Pooter" yields sufficient results linked to the book to make me suspicious. I've no idea what happened to my copy, but I do seem to recall reading it at some point in the last 15 years so I may still have it somewhere. If it ever surfaces, I will be fascinated to check out the name of the character - I remain convinced that in my (very old) copy it was Henry!

Here's a couple of references to Henry Pooter...

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Quiz+of+the+Day.-a0142031654

http://books.cosis.net/bookstore/book/3635087/0/COST/BOK/EN9781907523281/Grossmith__G__DIARY_OF_A_NOBODY.html