.gif)
E (novel)
Encyclopedia
e is a comic novel
by Matt Beaumont
first published in 2000
. Written in the epistolary
tradition, it consists entirely of e-mail
s written between the employees of an advertising agency
and some of their business partners. Thus, the novel is a multiple-perspective narrative where events are seen through the eyes of various people working for the agency, from temp
to CEO
. e centres around corporate business structures
, leadership
, creativity
, headhunting
for and firing people to keep up appearances, work efficiency
, business ethics
, and all kinds of human weaknesses which stall progress by having employees waste their time and energy on unimportant things and which eventually prevent success.
Beaumont worked as a copywriter
himself before embarking on a literary career, and e is his debut novel
.
inside the London office of Miller Shanks, a prominent (fictitious) international advertising agency. When the novel opens two major projects are under way: the shooting, on location
in Mauritius
, of a commercial
for a porn channel; and preparations for a sales pitch
, with Coca-Cola
as the company's prospective client.
While the Coca-Cola advertising campaign
is supposed to be kept confidential, David Crutton, the Chief Executive Officer, is astonishingly computer illiterate
and inadvertently sends carbon copies
of every single one of his e-mails to the Helsinki office of Miller Shanks. Simon Horne, the Creative Director, has stolen the "original" idea on which the Coca-Cola campaign is based from two recent college graduates who are looking for work and does not believe that the past will ever catch up with him. In the end it does, but although the campaign can be patched up in the last minute with the help of the Helsinki office, Coca-Cola finally decide not to award their advertising account to Miller Shanks after one of their female top level managers has watched a secretly filmed video on the Internet
showing Horne in his office having sex with a ladyboy.
The shooting in Mauritius goes terribly wrong already during the flight to the island when the breast implants of one of the four models
hired to appear in the video explode. Shortly afterwards, yet another model drops out due to hyperthermia
, facts which force the creative team to continually rewrite the script. Bad weather makes filming impossible for a couple of days, but the last straw is an alleged sexual attack by the company's male client ("a fat lech") on television presenter Gloria Hunniford
, who happens to be staying at the same hotel
together with a BBC
crew to film a holiday show. Miller Shanks encounter further complications when loose talk at the hotel bar by Topowlski and Douglas, two art directors, triggers a headline in The Sun
about the "Hunniford Affair".
Subplot
s revolve around the frantic attempts of Ken Perry, the Office Administrator, at upholding order in the building; the ongoing love affair between O'Keefe and Lorraine Pallister; a not even half-hearted suicide attempt
by Susi Judge-Davis, devoted PA to Simon Horne and Simon Horne alone; and Nigel Godley's failed endeavours to be recognized as both a good chum and a loyal workaholic
.
According to the author's web site, e "caused something of a stir on its publication, not least in London advertising circles where the debate centred around who the book's characters were based on. It went on to become a bestseller in several countries."
For some time, Miller Shanks even had their own (fictitious) web site, www.millershanks.com (no longer active) for readers to browse through.
Beaumont also wrote a short sequel
to the novel, The e Before Christmas (2000), and a complete sequel
entitled e Squared (2010) incorporating text messaging content alongside emails.
Comic novel
A comic novel is a work of fiction in which the writer not only seeks to amuse the reader, but also to make the reader think about controversial issues, sometimes with subtlety and as part of a carefully woven narrative; sometimes, above all other considerations...
by Matt Beaumont
Matt Beaumont
Matthew Beaumont is a British novelist and former copywriter.Beaumont made his debut in 2000 with the comic novel, e. The Novel of Liars, Lunch and Lost Knickers, which consists entirely of e-mails composed by the staff of one advertising office...
first published in 2000
2000 in literature
The year 2000 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* February 13 - Final original Peanuts comic strip is published...
. Written in the epistolary
Epistolary novel
An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries, newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used. Recently, electronic "documents" such as recordings and radio, blogs, and e-mails have also come into use...
tradition, it consists entirely of e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
s written between the employees of an advertising agency
Advertising agency
An advertising agency or ad agency is a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients. An ad agency is independent from the client and provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services...
and some of their business partners. Thus, the novel is a multiple-perspective narrative where events are seen through the eyes of various people working for the agency, from temp
Temporary work
Temporary work or temporary employment refers to a situation where the employee is expected to leave the employer within a certain period of time. Temporary employees are sometimes called "contractual", "seasonal", "interim", "casual staff", "freelance", or "part-time"; or the word may be shortened...
to CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
. e centres around corporate business structures
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
, leadership
Leadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...
, creativity
Creativity
Creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby a person creates something new that has some kind of value. What counts as "new" may be in reference to the individual creator, or to the society or domain within which the novelty occurs...
, headhunting
Recruitment
Recruitment refers to the process of attracting, screening, and selecting qualified people for a job. For some components of the recruitment process, mid- and large-size organizations often retain professional recruiters or outsource some of the process to recruitment agencies.The recruitment...
for and firing people to keep up appearances, work efficiency
Efficiency ratio
The efficiency ratio, a ratio that is typically applied to banks, in simple terms is defined as expenses as a percentage of revenue , with a few variations. A lower percentage is better since that means expenses are low and earnings are high...
, business ethics
Business ethics
Business ethics is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations.Business...
, and all kinds of human weaknesses which stall progress by having employees waste their time and energy on unimportant things and which eventually prevent success.
Beaumont worked as a copywriter
Copywriting
Copywriting is the use of words and ideas to promote a person, business, opinion or idea. Although the word copy may be applied to any content intended for printing , the term copywriter is generally limited to promotional situations, regardless of the medium...
himself before embarking on a literary career, and e is his debut novel
Debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...
.
Plot summary
The setting of e is the very beginning of the new millenniumMillennium
A millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....
inside the London office of Miller Shanks, a prominent (fictitious) international advertising agency. When the novel opens two major projects are under way: the shooting, on location
On location
On location can refer to:*Filming location, a place where some or all of a film or television series is produced*On Location , a name of an HBO special series*Adobe OnLocation, computer software for direct to disk recording....
in Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, of a commercial
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
for a porn channel; and preparations for a sales pitch
Sales pitch
In selling technique, a sales pitch is a line of talk that attempts to persuade someone or something, with a planned sales presentation strategy of a product or service designed to initiate and close a sale of the product or service....
, with Coca-Cola
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer, retailer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia...
as the company's prospective client.
While the Coca-Cola advertising campaign
Advertising campaign
An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication...
is supposed to be kept confidential, David Crutton, the Chief Executive Officer, is astonishingly computer illiterate
Computer literacy
Computer literacy is defined as the knowledge and ability to use computers and related technology efficiently, with a range of skills covering levels from elementary use to programming and advanced problem solving. Computer literacy can also refer to the comfort level someone has with using...
and inadvertently sends carbon copies
Carbon copy
Carbon copying, abbreviated cc or c.c., is the technique of using carbon paper to produce one or more copies simultaneously during the creation of paper documents...
of every single one of his e-mails to the Helsinki office of Miller Shanks. Simon Horne, the Creative Director, has stolen the "original" idea on which the Coca-Cola campaign is based from two recent college graduates who are looking for work and does not believe that the past will ever catch up with him. In the end it does, but although the campaign can be patched up in the last minute with the help of the Helsinki office, Coca-Cola finally decide not to award their advertising account to Miller Shanks after one of their female top level managers has watched a secretly filmed video on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
showing Horne in his office having sex with a ladyboy.
The shooting in Mauritius goes terribly wrong already during the flight to the island when the breast implants of one of the four models
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
hired to appear in the video explode. Shortly afterwards, yet another model drops out due to hyperthermia
Hyperthermia
Hyperthermia is an elevated body temperature due to failed thermoregulation. Hyperthermia occurs when the body produces or absorbs more heat than it can dissipate...
, facts which force the creative team to continually rewrite the script. Bad weather makes filming impossible for a couple of days, but the last straw is an alleged sexual attack by the company's male client ("a fat lech") on television presenter Gloria Hunniford
Gloria Hunniford
Gloria Hunniford is a Northern Irish TV and radio presenter, and formerly a singer.-Biography:...
, who happens to be staying at the same hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
together with a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
crew to film a holiday show. Miller Shanks encounter further complications when loose talk at the hotel bar by Topowlski and Douglas, two art directors, triggers a headline in The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
about the "Hunniford Affair".
Subplot
Subplot
A subplot is a secondary plot strand that is a supporting side story for any story or the main plot. Subplots may connect to main plots, in either time and place or in thematic significance...
s revolve around the frantic attempts of Ken Perry, the Office Administrator, at upholding order in the building; the ongoing love affair between O'Keefe and Lorraine Pallister; a not even half-hearted suicide attempt
Parasuicide
Parasuicide refers to suicide attempts or gestures and self-harm where there is no result in death. It is a non-fatal act in which a person deliberately causes injury to himself or ingests any prescribed or generally recognised therapeutic dose in excess...
by Susi Judge-Davis, devoted PA to Simon Horne and Simon Horne alone; and Nigel Godley's failed endeavours to be recognized as both a good chum and a loyal workaholic
Workaholic
A workaholic is a person who is addicted to work.The term generally implies that the person enjoys their work; it can also imply that they simply feel compelled to do it...
.
Characters
- James F Weissmuller, President of Miller Shanks Worldwide (American)
- Pertti van Helden, CEO of Miller Shanks HelsinkiHelsinkiHelsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
(Finnish) - David Crutton, CEO of Miller Shanks LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(British) - Simon Horne, creative directorCreative DirectorA creative director is a position often found within the graphic design, film, music, fashion, advertising, media or entertainment industries, but may be useful in other creative organizations such as web development and software development firms as well....
of the London branch - Daniel Westbrooke, Head of Client Services (London branch)
- Vince Douglas, Pinki Fallon, Liam O'Keefe, Brett Topowlski, art directorArt directorThe art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
s and copywriters - Carla Browne, Zoë Clarke, Susi Judge-Davis, Lorraine Pallister, secretariesSecretaryA secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...
/personal assistantPersonal assistantA personal assistant or personal aide is someone who assists in daily business or personal tasks. It is common in design to have a PDA, or personal design assistant....
s - Rachel Stevenson, PersonnelHuman resourcesHuman resources is a term used to describe the individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, although it is also applied in labor economics to, for example, business sectors or even whole nations...
department - Chandra Kapoor, Ravi Basnital, ITInformation technologyInformation technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
department - Ken Perry, Office Administrator
- Nigel Godley, accountsAccountancyAccountancy is the process of communicating financial information about a business entity to users such as shareholders and managers. The communication is generally in the form of financial statements that show in money terms the economic resources under the control of management; the art lies in...
- Letitia Hegg, headhunter
- Max Gregory, lawyer
Reviews
- http://www.justpeople.com/contentnew/careeradvice/BookReviews/e.asp | http://www.chicklit.co.uk/articles/matt_beaumont.asp (e discussed as an example of lad lit) | http://www.flakmag.com/books/e.html | http://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/0452281881.asp | http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/printed-books/e-matt-beaumont/260022/
According to the author's web site, e "caused something of a stir on its publication, not least in London advertising circles where the debate centred around who the book's characters were based on. It went on to become a bestseller in several countries."
For some time, Miller Shanks even had their own (fictitious) web site, www.millershanks.com (no longer active) for readers to browse through.
Beaumont also wrote a short sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to the novel, The e Before Christmas (2000), and a complete sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
entitled e Squared (2010) incorporating text messaging content alongside emails.
See also
- ElevenEleven (novel)Eleven is a 2006 novel by David Llewellyn and published by Seren Press.Eleven is unusual in that it is written entirely in the form of emails, drawing to a certain extent upon the tradition of epistolary novels...
, a 2006 novel by David LlewellynDavid Llewellyn (author)David Llewellyn , is a Welsh novelist. He grew up in Pontypool and graduated from Dartington College of Arts in 2000. His first novel, Eleven, was published by Seren Press in 2006. His second novel, Trace Memory, a spin-off of the BBC drama series Torchwood was published in March 2008. Everything...
also entirely composed of e-mails - William BernbachWilliam BernbachWilliam Bernbach was an American advertising creative director. He was one of the three founders in 1949 of the international advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach...