Diary of a Nobody

Charles (left) and Lupin Pooter at Broadstairs, from Chapter VI of The Diary of a Nobody.

Typical houses on Holloway Road, roughly at the location of "Brickfield Terrace"

The Diary of a Nobody, an English comic novel written by George Grossmith and his brother Weedon 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 diary is the fictitious record of fifteen months in the life of Mr. Charles Pooter, a middle aged city clerk of lower middle-class status but significant social aspirations, living in the fictional 'Brickfield Terrace' in 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 fiancée, Daisy Mutlar.

The humour 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 Londoners of the late Victorian era.

The book has spawned the word "Pooterish" to describe a tendency to take oneself excessively seriously.^[1][2]

Pooter is mentioned in John Betjeman's poem about Wembley.

Adaptations

An audio version was produced, performed by Arthur Lowe. In 1964, Ken Russell directed a black and white film adaptation for BBC 2, with Bryan Pringle in the title role and Jonathan Cecil as Cummings.

A TV version of the novel appeared on BBC2 in 1979 with Terrence Hardiman (Pooter) and Timothy Bateson (Cummings), and another on BBC Four in 2007, starring Hugh Bonneville as Charles Pooter.

References

1. ^ Pooterish
2. ^ Guardian Unlimited: It's uncut, leftwing and Pooterish

External links

• The Diary of a Nobody (2007) at the Internet Movie Database
• The Diary of a Nobody at Project Gutenberg
• librivox audio recording
• The Complete Diaries, with Illustration