🔗 Share this article Uncovering the Written World of Paul Bailey Paul Bailey, who died in October aged 87, was acclaimed for a witty genius, intense sympathy even for his most flawed characters, and an intelligence that was never clinical. His literary works often explored the role of remembrance within personal journeys, propelled by sharp, rhythmic dialogue. In addition to storytelling, he was also a memoirist, poet, and more—here is a guide to the books he left behind. The Ones to Keep You Company Bailey was an outgoing person, a master conversationalist fond of casual small talk, as one character notes. Together with companion Beryl Bainbridge often enjoyed the TV show Coronation Street and debrief by phone. This fondness for informal dialogues is evident in his novels Trespasses (1970) along with Peter Smart’s Confessions (released in 1977). The two present a leading man encircled by funny, annoying, over-the-top characters, often close relatives whose influence is inescapable. “What’s so great about being normal?” Ralph’s mum questions within Trespasses after he discloses his homosexuality. Like an evening with your wittiest, boldest friend. The Ones to Make You Laugh and Cry Paul Bailey authored superbly on old age, at both ends of his writing journey. His debut novel At the Jerusalem (from 1967) traces the life of Faith Gadny during her transition to a care facility, where other occupants supply compassion lacking from staff, who show interest by asking “Why aren’t you ladies watching the television?”. In the novel before his final Chapman’s Odyssey (from 2011), a senior in hospital moves between arguing with doctors (“I only drink superior wines”, he states after reprimands over liver tests) and being flooded by memories involving his mum, partners, classic characters such as Pip from Dickens or Emma from Austen. Each volume are filled with funny exchanges however tinged with impending endings. In his stories, laughter is suspect. In that book, “the matron beamed, then stopped suddenly”; Mrs Gadny laughs nervously if her actions are questioned. Within Chapman’s Odyssey, Harry advises that “my smiles aren’t what they seem”. Your laughter, nonetheless, is sincere. If You Want the Facts Behind the Fiction Apart from his stories, Paul Bailey served as a talented life writer, issuing two personal accounts. the memoir An Immaculate Mistake (from 1990) serves as a classic of reminiscence, its name coming from his mum’s statement labeling him an “accident” and questioning his presence. (“Aged, she was releasing her confidences,” he adds. “This secret, she realized, would intrigue me.”) Here we see the origins of misguided, loving, frustrating parents throughout his books. It also paints an evocative portrait of a homosexual young man in the 1940s–50s, during a time of anti-gay laws, and his relatives considered it strange if a male child gifted blooms to his parent; and of an aspiring actor (Bailey acted before writing) who learned Hamlet by age fifteen. His subsequent life story A Dog’s Life (2004) focuses on life with his mongrel puppy Circe, his former partner David, his love for Romania—that influenced 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 about Iris Murdoch calling an audience member a “stupid cow”. If You’re Pressed for Time Paul Bailey’s books are generally brief—the impactful Old Soldiers (1980) is under 100 pages—however, for a more condensed choice, explore his poems in his final phase. The pair of volumes Inheritance (published in 2019) and Joie de Vivre (from 2022) display Bailey’s wit, empathy, precision in small packages. These verses contain death and life. Two romantic motifs repeat: for his mother (“I’m closer to you now – / I need to tell you – / than I ever was in life”) and for his civil partner Jeremy Trevathan. In Amazement, he describes the joy of “watching an idiotic TV entertainment” together, finishing with: “It’s awesome, in its way, this act of eating cheese / and drinking wine, as the world keeps darkening.” If You Only Read One It is widely accepted that Bailey’s most ambitious novel was Gabriel’s Lament, shortlisted for the Booker prize in 1986. (He served as a judge for the award in 1982, a task he hated.) This novel Paul Bailey valued most, although “it drained me. It took everything out of me”. It tells the tale of Gabriel Harvey, with a missing mother and whose father turns into an insufferable elitist after inheriting wealth, and the two might be related. It’s a depiction of London in the 1900s, a tale of emotional unraveling, and equally humorous and sorrowful as anything Bailey wrote. Additionally, it prompted a follow-up, Sugar Cane (published in 1993), which the author studied by attending brothels to observe.