Wild About Harry (novel)
Encyclopedia
Wild About Harry is the first novel by British writer Paul Pickering
. It was published by Weidenfeld & Nicholson in 1985 and Collins
in 1986. The book was published in America by Atheneum Books
in 1985. Pickering researched the novel in Paraguay when he was sent to look for the Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele by Sir James Goldsmith
’s NOW! magazine.
called the book the best black comedy of the year and Valentine Cunningham
, Professor of English language
and literature
at the University of Oxford
said in The Observer
that it was a 'smashing debut from a new comic novelist of terrific promise.' The Listener magazine said it was better than Graham Greene
. The novel was long-listed for the Booker Prize
and shortlisted for the David Higham Prize for Fiction
and received good reviews.
Paul Pickering
- Early Life :Pickering was born in Rotherham, Yorkshire, the son of Arthur Samuel Pickering and Lorna . He was educated at the Royal Masonic School for Boys in Bushey, Hertfordshire, and at the University of Leicester.- Career :...
. It was published by Weidenfeld & Nicholson in 1985 and Collins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
in 1986. The book was published in America by Atheneum Books
Atheneum Books
Atheneum Books was a publishing house and adult publisher created by Alfred A. Knopf, Jr. in 1959. He recruited editor Jean E. Karl personally, to come and establish a Children's Book Department in 1961....
in 1985. Pickering researched the novel in Paraguay when he was sent to look for the Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele by Sir James Goldsmith
James Goldsmith
Sir James Michael "Jimmy" Goldsmith was an Anglo-French billionaire financier and tycoon. Towards the end of his life, he became a magazine publisher and a politician. In 1994, he was elected to represent France as a Member of the European Parliament and he subsequently founded the short-lived...
’s NOW! magazine.
Plot summary
In Paraguay an English Major, Harry Copeland-Smith is guarding a war criminal and in his best efforts to protect him becomes like his charge.Reception
The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
called the book the best black comedy of the year and Valentine Cunningham
Valentine Cunningham
Valentine Cunningham is a professor of English language and literature at the University of Oxford. He tutors English at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, where he is a Senior Fellow and Vice President. His specialism is modern English literature and literary theory. He has written a number of books,...
, Professor of English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
said in The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
that it was a 'smashing debut from a new comic novelist of terrific promise.' The Listener magazine said it was better than Graham Greene
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
. The novel was long-listed for the Booker Prize
Man Booker Prize
The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe. The winner of the Man Booker Prize is generally assured of international renown and...
and shortlisted for the David Higham Prize for Fiction
David Higham Prize for Fiction
The David Higham Prize for Fiction was inaugurated in 1975 to mark the 80th birthday of the late David Higham, literary agent, and was awarded annually to a citizen of the Commonwealth, Republic of Ireland, Pakistan, or South Africa for a first novel or book of short stories...
and received good reviews.
External links
- Debrett's People of Today 21 August 2005
- Collected reviews
- Paul Pickering at Simon & Schuster USA.
- Paul Pickering at Simon & Schuster UK.
- Paul Pickering's website