Mrs. Pooter's diary

by Keith Waterhouse

The Diary of a Nobody is one of the great classics of English humour. Mrs. Pooter's Diary is more than a brilliant homage to the original, it is a wonderful comic creation in its own right.

Genres: Fiction

207 pages, Hardcover

First published October 3, 1983

About the author

Keith Spencer Waterhouse CBE, was a novelist, newspaper columnist, and the writer of many television series.

Reviews

[Majenta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Perfect companion to, and go-between of, the original DIARY OF A NOBODY (by George and Weedon Grossmith, to whom Waterhouse dedicates this) and DIARY OF A NOBODY IN THE 21ST CENTURY ("Charles Pooter V"). Indeed, behind every Potential Somebody is a wise and tolerant partner. But why does she think we need SUCH constant reminders that "Sarah" is her maid and her best friend "Annie Fullers" is "Mrs. James, of Sutton"?

"JANUARY 22. Sarah...gave notice, for the reason that 'the Master'ad been picking on her; it 'ad been pick, pick, all breakfuss-time long." (p. 141)

[Peter Allard · Rating 3 out of 5]

The sequel to the 19th century classic comic novel 'Diary Of A Nobody' by the author of 'Billy Liar'. Mrs Pooter reads her husband's diary, unbeknown to him, and writes her own version of events. First publishes in the 1980s, but written in an authentic period style. If you enjoyed the original, you're guaranteed to like this.

[Momo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keith Waterhouse's excellent "sequel" or literary counterpart to George and Weedon Grossmith's English classic epistolary comic novel, "The Diary of a Nobody," in which Charles Pooter records the events of his life, is a funny and spot-0n look at those events from the point of view of Caroline, Pooter's wife. Wonderful in its own right, "Mrs. Pooter's Diary" just might top Mr. Pooter's, in my humble, nobody opinion!

[Ashley Lambert-Maberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great fun, suffering only by comparison. It's easier to endure Mr Pooter's heartbreaks along the way because, really, he's such a Larry David (or George Costanza), but I empathize too much with Mrs Pooter to whole-heartedly enjoy her brushes with misfortune. Thus, a low 4 stars from me, instead of the identical-looking but quite different high 4 stars for the original. (And frustrating we should still have to make such discriminations: Goodreads, please introduce a 10 point (or 100 point!) system. You could easily convert 1 star -> 10, 2 stars -> 30, 3 stars -> 50, 4 stars -> 70, and 5 stars -> 90, giving us room to mark our favourite 5 star books up, and so forth. Please!

(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = really enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this in tandem with the original "Diary Of A Nobody". Actually it is probably the better book because of its knowing parallel of the original events and the clear voice which Waterhouse has created for Caroline the long suffering partner of Charles Pooter. Waterhouse has also captured the period tone of the original and added some more contemporary insights into the way a late Victorian marriage may have worked. Like the original an undemanding but fun read

[James Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed 'Diary of a Nobody' and was not sure how well I would take to this addition to the canon. However, I've always enjoyed Keith Waterhouse's books/scripts so thought it was worth a try. It took me a chapter or two to get into it but, once I did, I didn't want it to end. A great escape from everyday life and the author has captured perfectly everything that made the original such a great read. I so wish he was still with us and could add a few more entries to the diary!

[Janet Bird · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous, need to read it again asap. Have read it numerous times over the years and the other one too.