There is a Happy Land (1957)
Keith Waterhouse
With a new introduction by Bill Hagerty
Book Description
Inspired by its author’s own childhood experiences, this moving novel is the story of a fateful few weeks in the life of an eleven-year-old boy on a public housing estate. When an eccentric man who is unusually fond of children (they nickname him ‘Uncle Mad’) moves onto the estate, the wheels of tragedy are set in motion, a tragedy made especially poignant because we watch it unfold through the eyes of the young narrator, who is unable to fully understand the significance of the terrible events happening around him . . .
Although Keith Waterhouse (1929-2009) is best known for his classic comic novel Billy Liar (1959), many critics believe his first novel, There is a Happy Land (1957), to be his best. This edition, the first-ever American publication of the novel, includes a new introduction by Bill Hagerty and the original jacket art by William Belcher.
Keith Waterhouse
With a new introduction by Bill Hagerty
Book Description
Inspired by its author’s own childhood experiences, this moving novel is the story of a fateful few weeks in the life of an eleven-year-old boy on a public housing estate. When an eccentric man who is unusually fond of children (they nickname him ‘Uncle Mad’) moves onto the estate, the wheels of tragedy are set in motion, a tragedy made especially poignant because we watch it unfold through the eyes of the young narrator, who is unable to fully understand the significance of the terrible events happening around him . . .
Although Keith Waterhouse (1929-2009) is best known for his classic comic novel Billy Liar (1959), many critics believe his first novel, There is a Happy Land (1957), to be his best. This edition, the first-ever American publication of the novel, includes a new introduction by Bill Hagerty and the original jacket art by William Belcher.
reviews
‘[A]mong the few great writers of our time.’ - Auberon Waugh, The Independent
‘He gets into the mind of his eleven-year-old, sees the world from the height of three foot six . . . The book is vivid, accurate, perceptive . . . how brilliant—and how honestly—the author makes his original effect.’ - The Observer
‘An exceptionally talented novelist.’ - Sunday Times
‘Remarkable for the deep and unwavering insight it gives into child behaviour . . . the candour of his vision and the cunning of his art are such that he captures the very essence of the eleven-minus mind.’ - The Times
‘He gets into the mind of his eleven-year-old, sees the world from the height of three foot six . . . The book is vivid, accurate, perceptive . . . how brilliant—and how honestly—the author makes his original effect.’ - The Observer
‘An exceptionally talented novelist.’ - Sunday Times
‘Remarkable for the deep and unwavering insight it gives into child behaviour . . . the candour of his vision and the cunning of his art are such that he captures the very essence of the eleven-minus mind.’ - The Times
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BOOK DETAILS
ISBN: 1939140617 ISBN-13: 978-1939140616 $15.99 US, 152 pp. Trade paper Published 2013 |
Due to copyright restrictions, this title is only available to U.S. customers.
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AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Keith Waterhouse was born in 1929 in Leeds. He left school at 14 and worked as a cobbler’s assistant and then an undertaker’s clerk before getting a job in 1950 as a junior reporter for the Yorkshire Evening Post. Waterhouse would remain active in journalism for the rest of his life, but also began a second career, writing fiction in his spare time. His first novel, There is a Happy Land, was published in 1957 and drew on his childhood growing up in poverty on a council estate. His second novel, Billy Liar (1959), was a major success, winning critical acclaim and becoming a bestseller; it is now considered a modern classic. With his friend Willis Hall, Waterhouse adapted Billy Liar for the stage and later wrote the screenplay for a 1963 film adaptation, which many believe is one of the best British films ever made. The novel also inspired a musical, a television series, and a sequel, Billy Liar on the Moon (1975).
Waterhouse continued to collaborate with Willis Hall over the next twenty-five years, writing numerous plays and television scripts, and also wrote plays on his own, including Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell, a major success when it opened in 1989 with Peter O’Toole in the starring role.
Waterhouse’s prolific output includes numerous well-received comic novels, including Jubb (1963), Office Life (1978) and Bimbo (1990), as well as two volumes of memoirs, City Lights (1994) and Streets Ahead (1995). He was also very well known for his writings on English language and usage and for his columns in the Daily Mirror and Daily Mail. He was appointed CBE in 1991 and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He died in 2009.
Waterhouse continued to collaborate with Willis Hall over the next twenty-five years, writing numerous plays and television scripts, and also wrote plays on his own, including Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell, a major success when it opened in 1989 with Peter O’Toole in the starring role.
Waterhouse’s prolific output includes numerous well-received comic novels, including Jubb (1963), Office Life (1978) and Bimbo (1990), as well as two volumes of memoirs, City Lights (1994) and Streets Ahead (1995). He was also very well known for his writings on English language and usage and for his columns in the Daily Mirror and Daily Mail. He was appointed CBE in 1991 and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He died in 2009.