Uncovering the Written World of Paul Bailey
The novelist Paul Bailey, whose life ended last autumn at 87, was celebrated for a humorous talent, intense sympathy extending to his deeply imperfect creations, and a cleverness that never felt cold. His literary works often explored the role of remembrance on human existence, fueled by witty, staccato exchanges. Beyond novels, he was also a memoirist, poet, and more—here is a guide to the books he left behind.
Works That Offer Solace
Bailey was a social being, an excellent talker with a love for casual small talk, in the words of a creation. Together with companion author Beryl Bainbridge would watch the TV show Coronation Street and debrief by phone. This pleasure in gossipy exchanges shines through in his fictional works the book Trespasses (from 1970) and the title Peter Smart’s Confessions (released in 1977). Both feature a central male figure besieged by humorous, irritating, exaggerated personalities, usually kin whose influence is inescapable. “What’s so great about being normal?” Ralph’s mum questions in the book Trespasses after he discloses his homosexuality. Comparable to hanging out with your most clever, daring companion.
Works That Evoke Laughter and Tears
Bailey wrote superbly on old age, at both ends of his writing journey. His first book the novel At the Jerusalem (from 1967) traces the journey of Faith Gadny while she adapts to a nursing home, where fellow residents offer warmth absent in employees, who show interest by asking “Why not view the TV, ladies?”. In his penultimate novel Chapman’s Odyssey (from 2011), an aged patient moves between arguing with doctors (“I only drink superior wines”, he insists following criticism of his liver) and confronting past remembrances involving his mum, partners, classic characters including Pip by Dickens and Emma by Austen. Both books contain funny exchanges but marked by approaching finality. In his stories, grins are unreliable. In At the Jerusalem, “the matron grinned, then ended it abruptly”; Faith Gadny chuckles anxiously upon challenge to her conduct. In that novel, Harry advises that “my grins are misleading”. The audience’s grins, though, are real.
If You Want the Facts Behind the Fiction
Apart from his stories, The author excelled as a gifted memoirist, releasing two self-written volumes. An Immaculate Mistake (1990) stands as a masterpiece of recollection, its title derived from his parent’s remark calling him “our error” and saying he shouldn’t exist. (“Elderly, she disclosed hidden truths,” he notes. “This one, she knew, would be of particular interest to me.”) Here we see the sources of flawed, caring, annoying mothers and fathers in his novels. It also paints a moving picture of a gay youth in the 1940s–50s, when same-sex acts were criminal, and his relatives considered it strange that a son would purchase flowers for his mum; and of a hopeful performer (Bailey acted preceding his literary career) who could recite Hamlet as a teen. His follow-up autobiography A Dog’s Life (2004) focuses on life with his mongrel puppy Circe, his former partner David, his love for Romania—which inspired subsequent books such as the novel Kitty and Virgil, Uncle Rudolf, and The Prince’s Boy—and plenty of gossip, with a story involving author Iris Murdoch labeling a listener a “foolish person”.
If You’re Pressed for Time
Bailey’s novels tend to be short—the impactful Old Soldiers (from 1980) is barely 100 pages—however, for a more condensed choice, sample his verse from later years. The two books Inheritance (published in 2019) along with the title Joie de Vivre (released in 2022) exhibit his cleverness, sympathy, exactness in brief format. These poems are rich with mortality and existence. Two affectionate topics reappear: regarding his mum (“I’m closer to you now – / I need to tell you – / than I ever was in life”) and for his civil partner Jeremy Trevathan. In Amazement, he depicts the pleasure in viewing “a silly TV show” as a couple, finishing with: “It’s remarkable, this simple act of consuming cheese and wine as darkness falls.”
If You Only Read One
It is widely accepted that Paul Bailey’s boldest work is Gabriel’s Lament, shortlisted for the Booker prize in 1986. (He was a Booker judge in 1982, an experience he despised.) This novel the author was most proud of, although “it drained me. It took everything out of me”. It follows the tale of Gabriel Harvey, whose mum disappears while his dad transforms into an unbearable snob upon receiving money, and the events may link. It’s a depiction of London in the 1900s, an account of psychological collapse, and as funny and sad similar to his entire output. For more, it inspired a subsequent book, Sugar Cane (from 1993), which the author studied by attending brothels to observe.
