The Diary of a Nobody, an
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
comic novelA comic novel is a work of fiction in which the writer not only seeks to amuse the reader, but also to make the reader think about controversial issues, sometimes with subtlety and as part of a carefully woven narrative; sometimes, above all other considerations...
written by
George GrossmithGeorge Grossmith was an English comedian, writer, composer, actor, and singer. His performing career spanned more than four decades...
and his brother
Weedon GrossmithWalter Weedon Grossmith , better known as Weedon Grossmith, was an English writer, painter, actor and playwright, best known as co-author of The Diary of a Nobody with his famous brother, music hall comedian and Gilbert and Sullivan star, George Grossmith...
with illustrations by Weedon, first appeared in the magazine
Punch in 1888 – 89, and was first printed in book form in 1892. It is considered a classic work of humour and has never been out of print.
The
diaryA diary is a record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, and/or thoughts or feelings, including comment on current events outside the writer's direct experience. Someone...
is the fictitious record of fifteen months in the life of
Mr. Charles PooterCharles Pooter is a fictional character, the supposed author and leading character of George and Weedon Grossmith's comic novel Diary of a Nobody.Pooter is a middle aged and middle class City of London clerk with ideas above his station...
, a middle aged
cityThe City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
clerk of lower middle-class status but significant social aspirations, living in the fictional 'Brickfield Terrace' in
Upper HollowayUpper Holloway is a district in the London Borough of Islington, London, centred around the A1 Holloway Road.-Overview:The name has fallen out of common use and the area is generally regarded as being a part of Archway or Holloway. The use of 'Upper Holloway' is most often used for Upper Holloway...
which was then a typical suburb of the impecuniously respectable kind. Other characters include his wife Carrie (Caroline), his son Lupin, his friends Mr Cummings and Mr Gowing, and Lupin's unsuitable
fiancéeAn engagement or betrothal is a promise to marry, and also the period of time between proposal and marriage which may be lengthy or trivial. During this period, a couple is said to be betrothed, affianced, engaged to be married, or simply engaged...
, Daisy Mutlar.
The
humourHumour or humor is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement...
derives from Pooter's unconscious gaffes and self-importance, as well as the snubs he receives from those he considers socially inferior, such as tradesmen. In
The Diary of a Nobody the Grossmiths create an accurate if amusing record of the manners, customs and experiences of
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
ers of the late
Victorian eraThe Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
.
The book has spawned the word "Pooterish" to describe a tendency to take oneself excessively seriously.
Pooter is mentioned in
John BetjemanSir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
's poem about Wembley.
Adaptations
An audio version was produced, performed by
Arthur LoweArthur Lowe was a BAFTA Award winning English actor. He was best known for playing Captain George Mainwaring in the popular British sitcom Dad's Army from 1968 until 1977.-Early life:...
. In 1964,
Ken RussellHenry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church...
directed a
black and white filmBlack-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
adaptation for BBC 2, with
Bryan PringleBryan Pringle was a British actor who appeared in television, film and theatre productions.Born in Tamworth, Staffordshire but raised in the Lancashire town of Bolton he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. In 1958, he married character actress Anne Jameson; together they had...
in the title role and
Jonathan CecilJonathan Hugh Gascoyne-Cecil , more commonly known as Jonathan Cecil, was an English theatre, film and television actor.-Early life:...
as Cummings.
A TV version of the novel appeared on BBC2 in 1979 with Terrence Hardiman (Pooter) and
Timothy BatesonTimothy Dingwall Bateson was a British actor. The son of Dingwall Bateson, a solicitor later knighted, he was educated at Uppingham School and Wadham College, Oxford....
(Cummings), and another on
BBC FourBBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
in 2007, starring
Hugh BonnevilleHugh Richard Bonneville Williams, known professionally as Hugh Bonneville , is an English stage, film, television and radio actor.-Education:...
as Charles Pooter.
External links