Beefy Jones

by Eric Malpass

Beefy Jones is a lovable rogue. Not very bright, but strong and kind-hearted, he lives with a gang of petty criminals and Jack-the-Lads in the disused loft of a church hall. The Vicar, meanwhile, is blissfully unaware of this motley gang of uninvited occupants. Returning home early one evening, Beefy overhears a meeting of the Church Council discussing the demolition of the church hall – their home. The gang then embarks on a series of adventures with one aim in mind – to sabotage the vicar’s plans by any means they can. In this hugely funny story, they find themselves involved in a series of madcap escapades with the ever-willing Beefy always at the centre of the action. The Eric Malpass was born in Derby in 1910 and worked in a bank after leaving school, but his firm ambition was to become a novelist and he wrote in his spare time for many years. His first book, Morning’s at Seven, was published to wide acclaim. With an intuitive eye for the quirkiness of family life, his novels are full of wry comments and perceptive observations. This exquisite sense of detail has led to the filming of three of his books. His most engaging character is Gaylord Pentecost – a charming seven-year-old who observes the strange adult world with utter incredulity.Eric Malpass also wrote biographical novels, carefully researched and highly evocative of the period. Among these is Beyond Human Fraility, the moving story of Thomas Cranmer. With his amusing and lovingly drawn details of life in rural England, Malpass’ books typify a certain whimsical Englishness – a fact which undoubtedly contributes to his popularity in Europe. Married with a family, Eric Malpass lived in Long Eaton, near Nottingham, until his death in 1996.

Genres: Fiction, Humor

199 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1957

Reviews

[Marcus with a C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beefy is a "funny" character and it took me a while to get to like him. The general reviews of the book were overwhelming and I had my difficulties during the first quarter before warming up to Beefy.
He only ever means good and this is what he turns out to become. It a wonderful adventure of a simple mind through lots of emotions and experiences, good and bad.
While certain chapters seem to stretch endlessly, others just flew by and to me it's one of these rare books that I did not wanted to end as it means to say goodbye.

[Hugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beefy is a kind of lovable rogue, but really not a bad sort. This book is very much of its time. Beefy is a simple soul and a gang of small time criminals living secretly in the loft of an English village hall have taken him into their gang. They hatch a scheme to save the hall but things don’t go to plan especially for Beefy . Overall great fun , well worth a read.