Uncovering the Written World of Paul Bailey
Esteemed author Paul Bailey, who passed away last year at 87, was renowned for his witty genius, deep empathy including for the worst personalities in his stories, and an intelligence that never felt cold. His novels repeatedly investigated the influence of recollections on human existence, fueled by witty, staccato exchanges. Apart from fiction, he was also an autobiographer, verse writer, and other capacities—here is a guide to the books he left behind.
The Ones to Keep You Company
Paul Bailey proved a social being, a master conversationalist who adored casual small talk, in the words of a creation. Together with companion fellow writer Beryl Bainbridge used to view the serial drama Coronation Street and analyze it telephonically. This enjoyment of gossipy exchanges appears within his books the novel Trespasses (from 1970) and Peter Smart’s Confessions (released in 1977). Each includes a leading man surrounded by humorous, irritating, exaggerated personalities, frequently family members whose impact cannot be avoided. “What’s so great about being normal?” queries Ralph’s mother in Trespasses after he discloses his homosexuality. Like an evening with your most clever, daring companion.
Works That Evoke Laughter and Tears
Bailey wrote excellently regarding elderly life, at both ends of his writing journey. His debut novel At the Jerusalem (1967) follows the journey of Faith Gadny as she adjusts to an old people’s residence, where other occupants offer warmth absent in employees, whose engagement through questions “Aren’t you watching television?”. Within his second-last book Chapman’s Odyssey (released in 2011), a senior in hospital switches between disputing with medics (“I only drink superior wines”, he insists when scolded for liver results) and confronting past remembrances involving his mum, partners, classic characters such as Pip from Dickens or Emma from Austen. The two works contain humorous dialogues but marked by approaching finality. In his stories, smiles are deceptive. In At the Jerusalem, “the matron smiled, shut the smile off quickly”; The character giggles with unease if her actions are questioned. Within Chapman’s Odyssey, Harry warns that “my grins are misleading”. Readers’ smiles, however, are authentic.
If You Want the Facts Behind the Fiction
Besides novels, Bailey was a gifted memoirist, publishing two autobiographies. An Immaculate Mistake (published in 1990) is a masterwork of recollection, its title derived from his mother’s words labeling him an “accident” and questioning his presence. (“Elderly, she disclosed hidden truths,” he notes. “This secret, she realized, would intrigue me.”) This book reveals the sources of misguided, loving, frustrating parents within his fiction. It also paints an evocative portrait of a homosexual young man in the 1940s–50s, during a time of anti-gay laws, and his family found it odd for a boy to buy his mother flowers; and of a hopeful performer (Paul Bailey performed prior to authoring) who learned Hamlet by age fifteen. His second memoir the book A Dog’s Life (published in 2004) focuses on life with his mongrel puppy Circe, his former partner David, his love for Romania—that influenced subsequent books such as Kitty and Virgil, Uncle Rudolf, plus The Prince’s Boy—and plenty of gossip, featuring an anecdote involving author Iris Murdoch calling an audience member an “idiot”.
When Time Is Limited
Bailey’s novels tend to be short—the powerful Old Soldiers (published in 1980) is just over 100 pages—but for something shorter, sample his verse from his later career. The pair of volumes Inheritance (from 2019) along with the title Joie de Vivre (released in 2022) display his humor, compassion, accuracy in condensed form. These writings are full of death and life. Two love themes recur: regarding his mum (“I feel nearer to you now—/ I must confess—/ than when you lived”) and for his spouse Jeremy Trevathan. In Amazement, he describes the joy of viewing “a silly TV show” as a couple, ending with: “It’s awesome, in its way, this act of eating cheese / and drinking wine, as the world keeps darkening.”
For a Single Must-Read
It is widely accepted that Bailey’s most ambitious novel was Gabriel’s Lament, nominated for the Booker in 1986. (He was a Booker judge in 1982, an experience he despised.) This work Bailey felt proudest of, even though “it exhausted him completely”. It tells the tale of Gabriel Harvey, with a missing mother and a father who becomes an insufferable elitist after inheriting wealth, and the two might be related. It’s a depiction of London in the 1900s, a story of mental breakdown, and as funny and sad similar to his entire output. For more, it inspired a sequel, Sugar Cane (published in 1993), which the author studied by attending brothels to observe.
