Jim Pooley
Encyclopedia
James Arbuthnot Pooley is a fictional character in The Brentford Trilogy
written by fantasy/humour writer Robert Rankin
. Jim tends to avoid regular employment, preferring to make his living by his wits and constantly seeking to make the perfect bet on racehorses that will give him all the wealth he could ever want. However, to date his attempts have proved fruitless, and his only successful bets have failed due to both Satanic intervention and the bookmaker losing all his money.
Throughout the series, despite his lack of a work ethic, Jim has taken on jobs on occasion, ranging from part-time gardener to Professor Slocombe, co-chairman of the Brentford Millennium celebrations, and manager to Brentford Football club. This last occurred on the recommendation of Professor Slocombe, who stated that Jim possessed great strength of belief in his convictions, as demonstrated by him constantly making bets by trusting his instincts even if Bob the Bookie feels he is making a mistake.
While his friend John is known as a ladies' man, having apparently slept with most of the women in Brentford, Jim himself has had very few romantic liaisons throughout the series, with his only confirmed sexual encounter being with Suzty, a girl who worked at the windscreen wiper shop, in "The Brentford Chainstore Massacre", who subsequently never appeared in any of the following books.
During the books The Brightonomicon
and Retromancer- set in Pooley's teenage years-, Pooley collaborated with Hugo Rune
, initially using the name Rizla due to his current state of amnesia
and later using it simply because Rune refers to him as such, against the evil plans of Rune's foe Count Otto Black. During this time, Pooley comes to see Rune as a father figure, a relationship that Rune apparently reciprocates. This culminates in a tearful farewell when Pooley unintentionally undoes Rune's immortality by defeating Otto Black for good, although Rune assures him that he is grateful.
The Brentford Trilogy
The Brentford Trilogy is a series of eight novels by writer Robert Rankin. They humorously chronicle the lives of a couple of drunken middle-aged layabouts, Jim Pooley and John Omally, who confront the forces of darkness in the environs of West London, usually with the assistance of large...
written by fantasy/humour writer Robert Rankin
Robert Rankin
Robert Fleming Rankin is a prolific British humorous novelist. Born in Parsons Green, London, he started writing in the late 1970s, and first entered the bestsellers lists with Snuff Fiction in 1999, by which time his previous eighteen books had sold around one million copies...
. Jim tends to avoid regular employment, preferring to make his living by his wits and constantly seeking to make the perfect bet on racehorses that will give him all the wealth he could ever want. However, to date his attempts have proved fruitless, and his only successful bets have failed due to both Satanic intervention and the bookmaker losing all his money.
Throughout the series, despite his lack of a work ethic, Jim has taken on jobs on occasion, ranging from part-time gardener to Professor Slocombe, co-chairman of the Brentford Millennium celebrations, and manager to Brentford Football club. This last occurred on the recommendation of Professor Slocombe, who stated that Jim possessed great strength of belief in his convictions, as demonstrated by him constantly making bets by trusting his instincts even if Bob the Bookie feels he is making a mistake.
While his friend John is known as a ladies' man, having apparently slept with most of the women in Brentford, Jim himself has had very few romantic liaisons throughout the series, with his only confirmed sexual encounter being with Suzty, a girl who worked at the windscreen wiper shop, in "The Brentford Chainstore Massacre", who subsequently never appeared in any of the following books.
During the books The Brightonomicon
The Brightonomicon
The Brightonomicon is a novel by British Fantasy author Robert Rankin, the title parodying that of the fictional grimoire the Necronomicon from the Cthulhu Mythos. The author lives in Brighton and the book is set in an accurate depiction of the city...
and Retromancer- set in Pooley's teenage years-, Pooley collaborated with Hugo Rune
Hugo Rune
Hugo Rune, full name Hugo Artemis Solon Saturnicus Reginald Arthur Rune, is a fictional character appearing in several of Robert Rankin's novels, generally being portrayed as a kind of anti-hero, possessing a fundamentally good character with various assorted eccentricities.-Rune's Origins:Rune's...
, initially using the name Rizla due to his current state of amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
and later using it simply because Rune refers to him as such, against the evil plans of Rune's foe Count Otto Black. During this time, Pooley comes to see Rune as a father figure, a relationship that Rune apparently reciprocates. This culminates in a tearful farewell when Pooley unintentionally undoes Rune's immortality by defeating Otto Black for good, although Rune assures him that he is grateful.