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Esteemed author Paul Bailey, who passed away last year at 87, was acclaimed for a humorous talent, profound compassion extending to his deeply imperfect creations, and a sharpness that avoided being sterile. His novels often explored the power of memory in shaping lives, driven by clever, syncopated conversations. Beyond novels, he worked as a memoirist, poet, and more—here is a guide to the books he left behind.

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Works That Offer Solace

Paul Bailey proved a gregarious individual, a master conversationalist who adored “trivial chit-chat”, as one character notes. Alongside pal author Beryl Bainbridge used to view the TV show Coronation Street and discuss it over calls. This fondness for gossipy exchanges shines through in his novels Trespasses (published in 1970) and the title Peter Smart’s Confessions (released in 1977). The two present a leading man encircled by humorous, irritating, exaggerated personalities, often close relatives whose gravitational pull is unavoidable. “Who wants to be normal anyway?” queries Ralph’s mother within Trespasses after he discloses his homosexuality. Like an evening with your most clever, daring companion.

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The Ones to Make You Laugh and Cry

Bailey wrote superbly on old age, at both ends of his writing journey. His initial fiction At the Jerusalem (published in 1967) follows the life of Faith Gadny while she adapts to a nursing home, where other occupants supply compassion missing from caregivers, who show interest by asking “Why not view the TV, ladies?”. Within his second-last book the title Chapman’s Odyssey (released in 2011), an elderly hospitalized man switches between clashing with physicians (“My wine selection is exclusive”, he affirms following criticism of his liver) and experiencing a rush of recollections involving his mum, partners, classic characters including Pip by Dickens and Emma by Austen. Both books are filled with funny exchanges however tinged with approaching finality. Throughout his novels, laughter is suspect. In that book, “the matron beamed, then stopped suddenly”; The character giggles with unease upon challenge to her conduct. Within Chapman’s Odyssey, Harry advises that “my grins are misleading”. The audience’s grins, though, are real.

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If You Want the Facts Behind the Fiction

In addition to fiction, Paul Bailey served as a gifted memoirist, issuing two personal accounts. An Immaculate Mistake (published in 1990) is a masterwork of recollection, the heading taken from his mum’s statement that “You were our mistake. You ought not to be here, by rights.”. (“Elderly, she disclosed hidden truths,” he adds. “This one, she knew, would be of particular interest to me.”) Within these pages appear the sources for confused, affectionate, irritating parental figures throughout his books. It likewise portrays a beautiful image of a homosexual young man during the mid-20th century, when homosexuality was illegal, and his family found it odd for a boy to buy his mother flowers; and of an aspiring actor (Paul Bailey performed prior to authoring) who memorized Hamlet at 15. His follow-up autobiography A Dog’s Life (published in 2004) concentrates on life with his mongrel puppy Circe, his ex-partner David, his fondness for Romania—which inspired subsequent books such as Kitty and Virgil, the title Uncle Rudolf, as well as The Prince’s Boy—and heaps of rumors, featuring an anecdote involving author Iris Murdoch dubbing a participant a “stupid cow”.

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When Time Is Limited

Paul Bailey’s books are mostly concise—the notable Old Soldiers (from 1980) is under 100 pages—however, for a more condensed choice, explore his poems from later years. The pair of volumes the poetry collection Inheritance (from 2019) and Joie de Vivre (2022) display his humor, compassion, accuracy in condensed form. These verses are rich with endings and beginnings. Two affectionate topics reappear: about his parent (“I’m closer to you now – / I need to tell you – / than I ever was in life”) and for his spouse Jeremy Trevathan. In Amazement, he describes the joy of viewing “a silly TV show” as a couple, finishing with: “It’s amazing, somehow, to eat cheese and sip wine while the world darkens.”

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For a Single Must-Read

There is little debate that Paul Bailey’s boldest work was the novel Gabriel’s Lament, a Booker Prize finalist in 1986. (He served as a judge for the award in 1982, an experience he despised.) This novel the author was most proud of, even though “it consumed all his energy”. It relates the tale of Gabriel Harvey, whose mum disappears while his dad transforms into a intolerable pretentious person following a financial windfall, with possible connections. It’s a depiction of London in the 1900s, a story of mental breakdown, and as funny and sad as anything Bailey wrote. Additionally, it prompted a subsequent book, Sugar Cane (published in 1993), that he investigated by going to such places to watch.