The Liar

infobox Book |
name = The Liar
title_orig =
translator =


author = Stephen Fry
cover_artist =
country = United Kingdom
language = English
series =
genre = Novel
publisher = William Heinemann
release_date = September 1991
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 240 pp (first edition, hardback)
isbn = ISBN 0-434-27191-8 (first edition, hardback) & ISBN 0-7493-0540-1 (paperback edition)
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"The Liar" (published 1991) is Stephen Fry's first novel. The book relates the life of Adrian Healey, a student at Cambridge University.

Plot summary

This book takes the reader from the protagonist’s public school days to his life as an adult. Adrian is "the liar" spoken of in the title: an intelligent and irreverent young man, he has carefully groomed for himself the image of a witty, highly extroverted gay boy; however, despite his image, and despite regarding sex as his "public pride", he finds himself unable to express his love for the beautiful Hugo Cartwright. Adrian suffers this through his school days, not to mention a tedious job working with potatoes and darker experiences of unrequited love. It is during his University years, though, that the story of his life takes a more extraordinary turn. This is where he meets the slightly eccentric Professor Donald Trefusis, and becomes involved in international espionage.

The book is noted for its wit and humour, as well as its often outrageous references to various homosexual experiences. The book also has an unreliable narrator; Adrian is 'the liar' and lies habitually to other characters; accordingly, in the book, whole chapters are later revealed to be fictitious, though the reader has no prior warning. This manner of sudden revelation occurs at various points throughout the book, placing respectable characters in scandalous situations and juxtaposing humour and triviality with darker themes.

The novel is partly autobiographical and many scenes echo experiences later recounted in Fry's memoir, "Moab is My Washpot". The Character Professor Trefusis was created by Fry for a number of humorous radio broadcasts and makes a number of appearances in another of Stephen Fry’s books, "Paperweight", in which one can read the transcript of many of his radio broadcasts.

Dundee University

The bar on level 3 of the Dundee university student Union is named after the book, as Stephen Fry was once a rector of the university.