Exploring the Written World of Paul Bailey
The novelist Paul Bailey, whose life ended last autumn at 87, was celebrated for a witty genius, deep empathy even for his deeply imperfect creations, and a sharpness that avoided being sterile. His fiction frequently delved into the power of memory in shaping lives, propelled by witty, staccato exchanges. Beyond novels, he was also a poet, memoir writer, and additional roles—here is a guide to the books he left behind.
Works That Offer Solace
Paul Bailey proved an outgoing person, an excellent talker who adored lighthearted gossip, in the words of a creation. He and friend fellow writer Beryl Bainbridge used to view the serial drama Coronation Street and discuss it over calls. This fondness for gossipy exchanges shines through in his books the novel Trespasses (from 1970) and Peter Smart’s Confessions (released in 1977). Both feature a leading man surrounded by comic, maddening, theatrical individuals, 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 smartest, cheekiest pal.
The Ones to Make You Laugh and Cry
Bailey wrote excellently regarding elderly life, throughout his literary path. His initial fiction the novel At the Jerusalem (from 1967) follows the life of Faith Gadny while she adapts to a care facility, where other occupants supply compassion lacking from staff, who show interest through questions “Aren’t you watching television?”. In the novel before his final Chapman’s Odyssey (from 2011), an elderly hospitalized man moves between clashing with physicians (“I only drink superior wines”, he affirms when scolded for liver results) and confronting past remembrances involving his mum, partners, classic characters including Pip by Dickens and Emma by Austen. Both books include comic interactions however tinged with impending endings. Throughout his novels, laughter is suspect. In At the Jerusalem, “the matron beamed, then stopped suddenly”; The character giggles with unease when confronted about her behavior. In that novel, Harry cautions that “my smiles aren’t what they seem”. Readers’ smiles, however, are authentic.
If You Want the Facts Behind the Fiction
Apart from his stories, Bailey was a gifted memoirist, publishing two autobiographies. An Immaculate Mistake (1990) is a masterwork of reminiscence, the heading taken from his mother’s words calling him “our error” and saying he shouldn’t exist. (“Aged, she was releasing her confidences,” he adds. “This one, she knew, would be of particular interest to me.”) Here we see the roots of misguided, loving, frustrating parents in his novels. Additionally, it depicts a moving picture of a boy discovering his sexuality in the 1940s–50s, when same-sex acts were criminal, and his relatives considered it strange for a boy to buy his mother flowers; and of a hopeful performer (Paul Bailey performed before writing) who memorized Hamlet at 15. His follow-up autobiography the book A Dog’s Life (published in 2004) concentrates on days with his pet Circe, his ex-partner David, his affection for Romania—that influenced later novels like Kitty and Virgil, the title Uncle Rudolf, as well as The Prince’s Boy—and plenty of gossip, including a tale regarding Iris Murdoch dubbing a participant a “stupid cow”.
For Those Short on Time
Paul Bailey’s books are mostly concise—the powerful Old Soldiers (1980) is barely 100 pages—yet for an even briefer option, try his poetry from his later career. The pair of volumes Inheritance (2019) along with Joie de Vivre (from 2022) display his cleverness, sympathy, exactness in small packages. These poems are full of death and life. Two affectionate topics reappear: 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 writes of the happiness from enjoying “foolish television” side by side, concluding with: “It’s remarkable, this simple act of consuming cheese and wine as darkness falls.”
For a Single Must-Read
There is little debate that Bailey’s most ambitious novel is Gabriel’s Lament, shortlisted for the Booker prize in 1986. (He was a Booker judge in 1982, a role he disliked.) This was the book Bailey felt proudest of, despite the fact “it consumed all his energy”. It tells the tale of Gabriel Harvey, with a missing mother and whose father turns into an insufferable elitist following a financial windfall, and the events may link. It’s a depiction of 20th-century London, an account of psychological collapse, and as funny and sad similar to his entire output. Additionally, it prompted a subsequent book, Sugar Cane (from 1993), that he investigated by visiting brothels as an observer.
