Portuguese Irregular Verbs (novel)
Encyclopedia
Portuguese Irregular Verbs is a short comic novel
by Alexander McCall Smith
, and the first of McCall Smith's Professor Dr von Igelfeld
novels. It was first published in 2003.
The protagonist is a bitter German professor, Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld
, who feels that he is not accorded the scholarly recognition and veneration he deserves. von Igelfeld is an extremely tall philologist at the Institute of Romance Philology in Regensburg, Germany. His closest peers at the institute are professors Dr Dr (honoris causa) Florianus Prinzel and Dr Detlev Amadeus Unterholzer. von Igelfeld is plagued by envy and suspicion of them.
In Portuguese Irregular Verbs, von Igelfeld's interest in, and expansive knowledge of, Romance languages
take him on junkets abroad, where he finds adventure and mishap. The book's title refers eponym
ously to von Igelfeld's magnum opus
, an enormous tome of approximately 1200 pages (which sells poorly).
Alexander McCall Smith quickly followed Portuguese Irregular Verbs with two sequels: The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs and At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances, both published in 2003. In 2004, Abacus (an imprint of Little, Brown and Company
) republished all three novels in a paperback omnibus
titled The 2½ Pillars of Wisdom
.
Portuguese Irregular Verbs has eight chapters:
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 Alexander McCall Smith
Alexander McCall Smith
Alexander "Sandy" McCall Smith, CBE, FRSE, is a Rhodesian-born Scottish writer and Emeritus Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh. In the late 20th century, McCall Smith became a respected expert on medical law and bioethics and served on British and international committees...
, and the first of McCall Smith's Professor Dr von Igelfeld
Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld (character)
Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld is the main character in a series of short, humorous novels by Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith.In the books, Von Igelfeld is:*a "Professor Dr";...
novels. It was first published in 2003.
The protagonist is a bitter German professor, Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld
Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld (character)
Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld is the main character in a series of short, humorous novels by Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith.In the books, Von Igelfeld is:*a "Professor Dr";...
, who feels that he is not accorded the scholarly recognition and veneration he deserves. von Igelfeld is an extremely tall philologist at the Institute of Romance Philology in Regensburg, Germany. His closest peers at the institute are professors Dr Dr (honoris causa) Florianus Prinzel and Dr Detlev Amadeus Unterholzer. von Igelfeld is plagued by envy and suspicion of them.
In Portuguese Irregular Verbs, von Igelfeld's interest in, and expansive knowledge of, Romance languages
Romance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
take him on junkets abroad, where he finds adventure and mishap. The book's title refers eponym
Eponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
ously to von Igelfeld's magnum opus
Magnum opus
Magnum opus , from the Latin meaning "great work", refers to the largest, and perhaps the best, greatest, most popular, or most renowned achievement of a writer, artist, or composer.-Related terms:Sometimes the term magnum opus is used to refer to simply "a great work" rather than "the...
, an enormous tome of approximately 1200 pages (which sells poorly).
Alexander McCall Smith quickly followed Portuguese Irregular Verbs with two sequels: The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs and At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances, both published in 2003. In 2004, Abacus (an imprint of Little, Brown and Company
Little, Brown and Company
Little, Brown and Company is a publishing house established by Charles Coffin Little and his partner, James Brown. Since 2006 it has been a constituent unit of Hachette Book Group USA.-19th century:...
) republished all three novels in a paperback omnibus
Omnibus
Omnibus may refer to:Law* Omnibus bill, a single legislative document containing many laws or amendments* Omnibus spending bill, a single legislative document that sets the budget of many government departments* Omnibus clause* Omnibus hearing...
titled The 2½ Pillars of Wisdom
The 2½ Pillars of Wisdom
The 2½ Pillars Of Wisdom is the collected name for three novels by Alexander McCall Smith.All three novels centre around the exploits of Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld.*2003 Portuguese Irregular Verbs*2003 The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs...
.
Portuguese Irregular Verbs has eight chapters:
- The Principles of Tennis
- Duels, and How to Fight Them
- Early Irish Pornography
- Italian Matters
- Portuguese Irregular Verbs
- Holy Man
- Dental Pain
- Death in Venice
External links
- Portuguese Irregular Verbs at Random HouseRandom HouseRandom House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...