
A Short Gentleman
Jon Canter(Author)
Jonathan Cape (Publisher)
Published on 6. March 2008
Book
Hardback
384 pages
978-0-224-07774-3 (ISBN)
Description
When Robert Purcell, aged eight, read his father's entry in "Who's Who", he saw his own life unfolding before him. Like his father, he'd get a first in Law, then enjoy a distinguished career as a barrister and a judge. For a long time, everything went to plan. Then his life fell apart. He committed a crime. He went to prison. Now he's out, his wife has told him to write an account of who he is and why he is who he is. What drove him to his crime? To an English gentleman who loathes the confessional culture such emotional striptease is torture. Nevertheless, "A Short Gentleman" is that confession. An intellectual giant but an emotional pygmy, Robert struggles to come to terms with the forces that brought him down: Elizabeth, the wife who wanted him to change, Judy Page, the ex-girlfriend who came back to haunt him, Pilkington, the childhood bully who grew into an adult bully, Mike Bell, the old friend Robert was always happy to patronise. Finally, there's his father, who proved, at the end of his life, not to be the man Robert thought he was.
Despite everything, Robert remains heroically determined to carry on being the same magnificently pompous and self-righteous man he always was, utterly resistant to therapy, change and the emotional demands of the opposite sex.
Despite everything, Robert remains heroically determined to carry on being the same magnificently pompous and self-righteous man he always was, utterly resistant to therapy, change and the emotional demands of the opposite sex.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paper over boards
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 159 mm
Thickness: 33 mm
Weight
626 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-224-07774-3 (9780224077743)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Jon Canter is the author of Seeds of Greatness and a scriptwriter for many of Britain's most prominent comedians. He lives in Suffolk with his wife and daughter.