Diary of a Nobody (Stage Version) (NHB Modern Plays)

By George and Weedon Grossmith

'Good evening. My name is Mr Charles Pooter. I have long considered the question: why should I not make public my diary?'
Charles Pooter of Upper Holloway, a middle-class clerk with social aspirations far beyond his status, has decided the world deserves to hear his diary. He has one night, a troupe of actors and an empty stage to impart the woes of his humdrum existence to anyone who will listen.
Adapted from the Victorian comedy of manners by Hugh Osborne, Diary of a Nobody features a small cast uproariously recreating the trials and tribulations of Pooter's daily grind in Victorian London.
Premiered at Royal & Derngate Theatre, Northampton, this highly energetic adaptation is also ideal for amateur theatre companies wanting to stage a freewheeling version of a classic novel.
'Perkily inventive and highly pleasing' Daily Telegraph
'This madcap show is inventive and funny' Daily Mail
'Nothing short of sensational' WhatsOnStage

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nick Hern Books
• Release date: Nov 10, 2016
• ISBN: 9781780018393

George and Weedon Grossmith

George and Weedon Grossmith were brothers, best remembered for their 1892 comic novel, The Diary of a Nobody, which they co-authored, with illustrations by Weedon. George Grossmith was also famous as a music hall performer (he created a series of memorable characters in the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan), and as a writer and composer.

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Reviews for Diary of a Nobody (Stage Version) (NHB Modern Plays)

[aliceanna-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I can imagine that this book was an absolute banger when it was first written and as considered by its target audience. I found it quite humorous and fun, but not being a middle class English suburbanite in the late 1800's, I'm sure that a lot of the humor was lost on me. It was a nice little diversion nonetheless.

[quondame · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I don't fancy let's condescend to be amused at the clueless narrator approach to humor. At least it was short.

[emmakendon_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Not sure I'd have read this if it hadn't been a gift, but this is a re-read, and it's great for filling a gap. Pooter's a suitably embarrassing pair of eyes to see through, though the Grossmith brothers do let him end his and his wife Carrie's tale well, and take you with him on your way. A delightful humble paddle in suburban England towards the turn of the century. Who needs Jerome K Jerome... ;-)

[nordie_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An amusing read - possibly funnier at the time it was published - this is the diary of Charles Pooter telling stories of himself, his friends and family.

He's a middle class banker with little ambition, who is constantly being insulted and taken advantage of by the servants and tradesmen, and does not understand his son. He attempts to show his sense of humour frequently fail as many people dont find the same things funny.

Short little read, amusing enough, not entirely sure I understood the ending (but then it was early in the morning).

[nickduberley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A very funny book and one that offers an insight into the social life of the times. One of very few good books written by more than one person.

[edwinbcn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The diary of a nobody is a work of the collaborative effort of the Grossmith brothers, George Grossmith(1847-1912) and Weedon Grossmith (1854-1919).George Grossmith wasa singer, comedian and an actor who shone in many principal roles in the light operas of that other artistic pair Gilbert and Sullivan light operas at Savoy Theater. Weedon Grossmith was an a painter, playwright, actor and writer. Together they wrote the comic Victorian novel The diary of a nobody.While in contemporary literature mock or even fully serious biographies of insignificant persons is a standard feature of literary output, spoofing the genre back then created an hilarious uproar. Published in 1892 it established a whole new genre of humorous fiction.The diary of a nobody contains illustrations made by Weedon Grossmith.I am not such a great fan of humorous fiction, but as a classic of Victorian literature, I thought is was still quite worthwhile.

[fliss88_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I’m dithering! How many stars does this diary deserve? I really enjoyed the reading. The language was perfect for the narrator. The characters well rounded. The humour very much in the ilk of P.G. Wodehouse. The story however, wasn’t ground breaking or earth shattering or instructive. It was however, an excellent, quite ridiculous, utterly charming diary of a nobody! Dither no more girl..... I’ve changed my rating from 3 to 4 stars.

[sharonmariabidwell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A classic which I first read as a teen, surprising my then English teacher when I chose it from the school library. Loved it then, adored it now. Perhaps surprisingly, it first appeared in Punch magazine in the late 1800s. Though simplistic — a middle-class gentleman seems to think his diary has as much chance to see publication as anyone else’s — it’s an exaggerated, humorous look at society and social observations, yet contains an underlying sadness. Part of the fun (and less cheery tone) comes from the things Mr Pooter finds so amusing and which plainly are not. The tale remains charming, and the illustrations delightful.

[chazzifrazz · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Diary of a Nobody was written by two brothers, George and Weedon Grossmith. It is Victorian England in the late 1880s. Charles Pooter has decided to share his everyday life as recorded in his diary.It starts with the Pooter’s move to their newest residence at The Laurels in Brickford Terrace. Charles Pooter is married to Carrie and they have a son, 20-year-old William Lupin. Pooter is a City of London clerk at Perkkups. Carrie runs the household. William is a bank clerk. There are also other characters that appear in his comments.Pooter is a bit of a snobbish and proper man, with set ideas and an image of himself. His recounting of events shows that he doesn’t always come out on top of what happens. Perhaps his standards and expectations are a little too high?When Pooter and his wife are invited to the Mayor’s Mansion House for a formal social event, they find that it is a gathering more of local trade and business people and not the upper echelon of people he was expecting. His disappointment, and Carrie’s, is made worse when he falls on the dance floor, taking Carrie with him, due to a little too much champagne.Another instance of things not going as it should is when his son moves back home. It seems that the son was let go due to his laziness on the job. Also the son has decided to go by his middle name, Lupin, rather than William. Pooter is now concerned with finding Lupin another job and Lupin is not the least bit worried.I did some research on the book and found that it has never been out of print! It was initially published in Punch as a serial in 26 installments. It was added to a published in book form in the 1890s. It wasn’t a sell-out, but over time it has been available and still is!It was interesting to get a glimpse of Victorian life and writing style. Something I enjoy is reading books from various eras. This was good and entertaining!

[pilgrimjess · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"Some people seem quite destitute a sense of Humour."The Diary of a Nobody was originally intended as a spoof against all the diaries that were being published and serialised at the time of writing yet today in the age of Blogs, Facebook and Twitter, where celebrity status can be gained seemingly without an awful lot of talent, it seems even more relevant. The book centres around Charlie Pooter (the Nobody), his wife Carrie and their son Lupin. Charlie Pooter is a City clerk who lives with his wife in Holloway. Their son Willie initially works for a bank in Oldham but early in the diary returns home after being dismissed announcing that he wants to be known by his middle name Lupin henceforth. Lupin is a chancer and everything that his father isn't. Mr Pooter has a strong sense of his own worth yet every-time he finds himself in a position that might work to his advantage some social gaffe means he misses out on the opportunity. The Pooters’ life is therefore made up of small pleasures and modest social occasions, many of which end embarrassingly and usually also involve his close friends Mr Gowings and Mr Cummings. Yet despite it all he ultimately triumphs.Sadly the world of Charles Pooter, a world of simple pleasures and of lifelong loyalty to one employer, has long disappeared yet there will probably be opportunities for people like Lupin. Yet it could be argued that the literary influence of this book, (Adrian Mole and Bridget Jones for example) can still be seen today. In fact many of the embarrassing misunderstandings that afflict Mr Pooter are directly reflected in these much later characters and afore mentioned Bloggers etc. When Mr Pooter tells Carrie and Lupin that, “I was in hopes that, if anything ever happened to me, the diary would be an endless source of pleasure to you both; to say nothing of the chance of the remuneration which may accrue from its being published”, both “burst out laughing”. But by way of an apology Carrie states; "I did not mean to be rude, dear Charlie; but truly I do not think your diary would sufficiently interest the public to be taken up by a publisher."There is a brief preview before each chapter which gives a tantalising outline of what is to follow without giving away too much detail. This is not a book that will make you laugh out loud, rather it has a gentle absurdity about it. I ended up feeling a great empathy for staid old Charlie hoping that his loyalty and sense of duty would ultimately prevail, as such I felt that the author's writing style set exactly the right tone. It is a book that has withstood the test of time, one that you read with a smile on your face and as such it deserves to be regarded as a classic.

[sadiebabie · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

It was a fairly quick read. It was funny too, I'll admit that. Not laugh out loud funny, but kind of sitcom-like, if it were a sitcom based in 1892! In fact, the date thing is funny, as what struck me most was that even though the book is 114 years old, it still feels...well, not modern, but not as dated as you'd expect. It was a pleasant enough read. Not really my thing, but it was interesting to read outside of my comfort zone.

[deltaqueen50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Diary of a Nobody written by George Grossmith and illustrated by his brother Weedon Grossmith is an English comic novel that was first published as a serial in Punch magazine in 1888-89 and then presented in book form in 1892. The book is written as the diary that records the daily lives of a London clerk, Charles Pooter, his wife Carrie, his son Lupin and many of his friends and acquaintances over a 15 month period has become a true classic and is still in print today.Much of the humor in this book is developed from the Pooter’s attempt to rise above their middle class life and the social humiliations that this resulted in. Charles Pooter’s pretensions and petty concerns become a wry satire on middle class aspirations that often sees the reader chuckling and wincing at the same time.The Diary of a Nobody is a quick and amusing read that is quaint and funny yet also gives us a glimpse into the past and a way of life that has for the most part disappeared. Even though the book is more than a century old, many will recognize the timeless character of Pooter from their own social circle or even from gazing into the mirror.

[sylviac_43 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this. Another book that doesn't require a great deal of brainpower. I found myself (figuratively) cheering for pompous, socially clueless Mr. Pooter and his loving wife.

[pgchuis · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I found this intermittently funny, but rather one-tone and sad. It is very British in its reliance on themes of social embarrassment and the fear of wearing the wrong clothes or paying the wrong amount. I'm glad it ended well for him, but I'm also glad it ended when it did.

[edmundirons · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Gentle humour. Fairly short; can be read in an evening.

[jvioland_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I'm sorry. This is supposed to be one of the funniest of books - according to the English. Huh? It is only mildly amusing. When you finish it, you'll ask, "So what?"

[sanddune_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The diary of Charles Pooter, a clerk in the City of London at the end of the nineteenth century, who doesn't see why he shouldn't have just as much right to publish his diary as the next man. As the epigraph says:Why should I not publish my diary? I have often seen reminiscences of people I have never even herd of, and I fail to see - because I do not happen to be a 'Somebody' - why my diary should not be interesting. My only regret is that I did not commence it when I was a youth'So in this gentle comedy we are introduced to Pooter's wife Carrie, his friends Cummings and Gowing, and above all to his only son Lupin, whose relationship to his father proves without a doubt that the generation gap was not invented in the 1960s! For while Pooter is respectable, conservative and intensely loyal to the firm for which he has worked for over 20 years, Lupin is prone to losing his job, getting home in the early hours of the morning, getting up at lunchtime and is a mystery and a worry to his father. But above all the book pokes fun (in a gentle way) at Mr Pooter's constant attempts to maintain his status as a lower-middle class gentleman in his residence at Brickfields Terrace, constantly thwarted by dealings with prosperous tradesmen who think themselves every bit as good as he is.This isn't laugh out loud funny, but it is a gentle humour which has stood the test of time.

[emanate28 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Lightly entertaining and funny while it lasted, but I found it quite unmemorable. It ended suddenly and without any real developments, which was too bad, as it seemed to be going somewhere.

[rlangston-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A quick but enjoyable read. Very dry humour.

[ursula_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Comedy of manners with a bumbling protagonist, Charles Pooter. Funny if you like that sort of thing, which I guess I don't all that much. I smiled a few times, laughed once or twice. Recommended for: fans of Jeeves, British comedies, class-based satires.

[shabacus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When I was a kid, I didn't get most of the references in Bugs Bunny cartoons. I watched and loved them, but much of the pop culture references of the 30s, 40s, and 50s went right over my head. At least, they did at first. Turns out, I had begun to pick up on those references just by watching, and eventually they became funny for me.The humor in The Diary of a Nobody is a lot like that for me. I'm pretty good at picking out the lines that are supposed to be humorous, and when they're not, I start to look for what I might be missing.The result is a very educational experience. I learned a lot about middle class English life in the 1890s. What struck me most of all was how similar, in many ways, it was to today.A short read, and recommended for anyone who wants to learn more about a culture not so far removed from our own.

[mirrani_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The book is as the title claims; a diary of events that could have happened to any random someone in the late 1800s. There is nothing hefty here, there is no real serious issue, just the life of a man who is part of a family, who have friends and meet people. It sounds completely uninteresting, but it's a classic and the comedy is a real joy to experience, as is the history itself. If you ever wanted to feel as if you were in a family from history, you should think about picking this one up.

[alexrichman_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

He may be a nobody but it's hard not to fall for this utterly sweet, well-meaning but clumsy diarist. There's not much heft, but a lot of heart.

[kristelh_15 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

English comic novel set in 1890's is a novel of Charles Pooter, a clerk. Through its humor the reader gets a picture of 1890 and what it is to be neither upper social or lower social class. Remarkably, could fit yet today.

[malteser1-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love this book - it's the second time I've read it and I enjoyed it this time just as much as the first. Charles Pooter, an ordinary little man, albeit rather pompous and self opinionated, decides to keep a diary to record the daily events of his life. Through this diary we learn so much about him as he records his hopes and aspirations, together with the many mishaps which befall him. He constantly reminded me of Captain Mainwaing of Dad's Army fame. The story is full of gentle humour and you have to warm to Charles as he struggles to achieve a higher place in society and cope with his errant son Lupin.This book was first published over 100 years ago and I think it's a little classic. Consisting of only about 150 pages, it's an easy, enjoyable read and I'd recommend it to anyone.

[stevejwales · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The diary of suburban "nobody" Charles Pooter who, while being the target for a (gentle) satire of the Victorian middle class, is quite endearing in his complete lack of self-awareness and his unfailing belief in the power of terrible puns to amuse anyone... Instantly recognisable characters and situations and just as funny over a century after it was published.

[madeehaness · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A pleasantly amusing read. Although, if I ever feel the urge to read about awkward misunderstandings, clumsy accidents, embarrassing situations and the not-remarkably-funny jokes, of an unconsciously snobbish, inarticulate, fairly ridiculous, self important nobody in a middle class household I can always flip through my own diary.

Which, quite naturally, leads me to wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Pooter, "Why should I not publish my diary? I have often seen reminiscences of people I have never even heard of, and I fail to see--because I do not happen to be a 'Somebody'--why my diary should not be interesting."
So,
Coming soon to a bookshop near you: The Diary of a Yet Another Nobody

[vivl_6 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I don't think I was supposed to like Mr Pooter but I felt great sympathy for a simple and conventional man and felt him unfairly picked on.

[condorena · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The wit and humor in this novel stands the test time.

[michael5rimmer · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I have shelved this book as "humour" in deference to what it says on the back-cover blurb, but, despite being patriotically partial to the English style of gentle, parochial fun-poking, this just didn't quite hit the spot.

It's certainly interesting enough to finish and has some amusing moments to enjoy, but I didn't take to Mr Pooter and his circle in the way I expected. I was (foolishly, I suppose) hoping for another Mr Pickwick and his club, but the Grossmiths are not Dickens, but then, who is?

I will, I think, give it another try in a few years in order to see whether time has added to its charm, but for now I shall shelve it with mild disappointment.