Discovering the Written World of Paul Bailey
The novelist Paul Bailey, whose life ended last autumn at 87, was renowned for a witty genius, profound compassion even for the worst personalities in his stories, and a sharpness that was never clinical. His fiction repeatedly investigated the power of memory on human existence, driven by sharp, rhythmic dialogue. In addition to storytelling, he worked as a poet, memoir writer, and additional roles—this serves as a roadmap to his enduring literary legacy.
The Ones to Keep You Company
Paul Bailey proved a gregarious individual, a master conversationalist who adored lighthearted gossip, as one character notes. Alongside pal fellow writer Beryl Bainbridge used to view the serial drama Coronation Street and analyze it telephonically. This pleasure in gossipy exchanges appears within his fictional works Trespasses (1970) along with Peter Smart’s Confessions (1977). Both feature a central male figure encircled by funny, annoying, over-the-top characters, usually kin whose gravitational pull is unavoidable. “Who wants to be normal anyway?” queries Ralph’s mother in Trespasses upon his coming out. Similar to spending time with your smartest, cheekiest pal.
The Ones to Make You Laugh and Cry
The novelist penned superbly on old age, at both ends of his writing journey. His initial fiction At the Jerusalem (from 1967) traces the journey of Faith Gadny during her transition to an old people’s residence, where fellow residents provide kindness missing from caregivers, whose concern via queries “Aren’t you watching television?”. In his penultimate novel Chapman’s Odyssey (from 2011), a senior in hospital switches between clashing with physicians (“I consume only fine wines”, he states after reprimands over liver tests) and being flooded by memories from his parent, romances, fictional icons such as Pip from Dickens or Emma from Austen. The two works are filled with humorous dialogues but marked by impending endings. In Bailey’s fiction, laughter is suspect. In that book, “the matron smiled, shut the smile off quickly”; The character giggles with unease if her actions are questioned. In that novel, Harry warns that “my grins are misleading”. The audience’s grins, though, are real.
To Understand the Truth Beneath the Tales
Besides novels, Bailey was a gifted memoirist, issuing two personal accounts. An Immaculate Mistake (from 1990) is a masterwork of memory, its name coming from his mum’s statement labeling him an “accident” and questioning his presence. (“Aged, she was releasing her confidences,” he comments. “This one, she knew, would be of particular interest to me.”) This book reveals the sources for confused, affectionate, irritating parental figures in his novels. It likewise portrays a moving picture of a gay youth in that era, when homosexuality was illegal, and his relatives considered it strange for a boy to buy his mother flowers; and of a would-be thespian (Paul Bailey performed before writing) who could recite Hamlet as a teen. 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—which inspired future works including Kitty and Virgil, the title Uncle Rudolf, and The Prince’s Boy—and loads of chatter, including a tale regarding Iris Murdoch labeling a listener a “foolish person”.
For Those Short on Time
Paul Bailey’s books are generally brief—the powerful Old Soldiers (published in 1980) is under 100 pages—but for something shorter, try his poetry in his final phase. The two collections the poetry collection Inheritance (from 2019) and the title Joie de Vivre (from 2022) exhibit his humor, compassion, accuracy in brief format. These poems are rich with mortality and existence. Two affectionate topics reappear: regarding his mum (“I feel nearer to you now—/ I must confess—/ than when you lived”) and for his partner Jeremy Trevathan. In Amazement, he writes of the joy of enjoying “foolish television” side by side, finishing with: “It’s remarkable, this simple act of consuming cheese and wine as darkness falls.”
For a Single Must-Read
It is widely accepted that Bailey’s most ambitious novel is the novel Gabriel’s Lament, a Booker Prize finalist in 1986. (He was a Booker judge in 1982, an experience he despised.) This work Bailey felt proudest of, despite the fact “it consumed all his energy”. It tells Gabriel Harvey’s story, whose mum disappears and whose father turns into an unbearable snob upon receiving money, with possible connections. It’s a depiction of London in the 1900s, a story of mental breakdown, and equally humorous and sorrowful similar to his entire output. To continue, it led to a sequel, Sugar Cane (published in 1993), that he investigated by going to such places to watch.
