Book Seven – Diary of a Nobody - George Grossmith.

Pooter’s Paradise 

The Diary of a Nobody is one of those books that I had heard of but one that lived on the edge of my consciousness, rarely entering my awareness enough to be read. Entering in at number seven of the 100 books I am reading over a year with +Daniel it is another that I am pleased to make acquaintance with. First published in serial form in 1888 it made its initial appearance in Punch on May 26^th, which happens to be my birthday but 80 odd years earlier.

The Diary of a Nobody is considered a work of comic genius and really does live up to its reputation. I found myself giggling along with the diary’s author Mr Charles Pooter. A man whose self-importance enables the reader to explore and laugh at the class system of England in the 1880s. The back of the book contains vital footnotes as much of the setting and gags are contemporary commentary that we 21^st century modernists would have little inkling of. I found myself speaking in my head in a rather posh voice as I imagined Pooter would and this poshness continues as I write about his adventures and foolishness.

Charles Pooter lives in is ‘well-appointed’ house in the up and coming suburb of Holloway on the edge of an expanding London with his wife Carrie and son William, who prefers to go by his second name Lupin. His son’s decision to take the second family name as is preferred name is actually a dig at George Grossmith’s brother who preferred the family name Weedon and illustrates the book with as much comic flair as the story.

George and Weedon Grossmith were both famous individuals in the 1880s and were creative souls involved in music, theatre, writing and anything else they could get their hands on. Despite the eventual fame of The Diary of a Nobody, (it has never been out of print) it was very much a side affair for both of them and they dismissed it as a bit of whimsy that was not as important as their other work: most of which has been forgotten. This suggests a shade of Mr Pooter resided in both of them.

Victorian England was awash with Diaries at the time and the inspiration of the book was to take the micky out of the esteemed offerings available. The memoirs of a man who is sure of his won place in society while equally sure that others are not provide an insight into the mind of the middle classes determined to be correct without realising it is only their own vision of what is correct.

Pooter likes to look down his nose at those he believes are lower than him and is a sycophant to those he feels hold a higher social position. Most of the humour is told through his lack of awareness of his own snobbery and sometimes cruelty to others.

He believes he is a great joke teller but is not able to take what he dishes out. He cannot see what bores his friends are and is unable to keep up with a rapidly changing world. He is of the school that the way he was brought up is the only correct way and is laughingly ignorant of fashion and trends in everyday life. The cruelty of his behaviour not only underlines the inequality that was around him but succinctly identifies such inequality as from the behaviour of members of society rather than society itself.

One of the fears of reading any book out of its time is that much of the language and nuances are lost in a contemporary setting. Dickens is someone that I find this to be true and reading him can be a struggle, as I know Daniel is finding as he pushes through David Copperfield. Luckily Mr Pooter’s memoirs do not fall into this trap and entertains and educates with its lessons of self-importance and awareness. This is amazing considering the latest inventions are bicycles and the youthful exuberances are new parlour games and local theatre.

Grossmith’s tales and writings transfer to any time and are a wonderful reminder that so many struggles about change and society that we are convinced are unique to our time are in fact eternal. Parents never fully understand the jargon of their children. Most humans are stuck in their views and ways and change is difficult for most. All these things are part of the eternal struggle and there is no better way to be reminded of these lessons than through a good giggle.

The Diary of A Nobody has been made into a TV show, radio show and rewritten in many formats including a blog. It could be said to be the inspiration of diaries of other non-entities such as Adrian Mole and Bridget Jones. A radio version was recently done with Johnny Vegas as the main character. As soon as I saw this I thought that to be completely appropriate which gives an idea of the sort of book it is to read.

+Daniel and I continue on our challenge but now that good weather has finally returned to Blighty we realise how much harder the task will be made by outdoor weather. I am off to enjoy some sun with my beautiful man and may start to take longer to complete the books without the wintry weather to crawl under the duvet with my latest read.

What shall I read next?