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Paul Bailey, who passed away last year at 87, was acclaimed for possessing a witty genius, profound compassion even for his deeply imperfect creations, and a sharpness that avoided being sterile. His fiction frequently delved into the influence of recollections on human existence, fueled by sharp, rhythmic dialogue. Apart from fiction, he also excelled as an autobiographer, verse writer, and other capacities—here is a guide to the volumes he authored.

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The Ones to Keep You Company

The author appeared as a social being, a skilled communicator who adored casual small talk, as one character notes. Together with companion Beryl Bainbridge used to view Coronation Street and analyze it telephonically. This fondness for gossipy exchanges shines through in his fictional works the novel Trespasses (1970) along with Peter Smart’s Confessions (released in 1977). Both feature a main male protagonist surrounded by humorous, irritating, exaggerated personalities, frequently family members whose influence is inescapable. “Who wants to be normal anyway?” queries Ralph’s mother in Trespasses after he discloses his homosexuality. Similar to spending time with your most clever, daring companion.

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The Ones to Make You Laugh and Cry

Paul Bailey authored superbly on old age, at both ends of his writing journey. His initial fiction At the Jerusalem (from 1967) details the journey of Faith Gadny while she adapts to an old people’s residence, where fellow residents provide kindness absent in employees, who show interest via queries “Aren’t you watching television?”. In his penultimate novel Chapman’s Odyssey (2011), a senior in hospital switches between clashing with physicians (“I consume only fine wines”, he affirms when scolded for liver results) and confronting past remembrances from his parent, romances, fictional icons including Pip by Dickens and Emma by Austen. Each volume are filled with humorous dialogues but marked by impending endings. Throughout his novels, laughter is suspect. In that book, “the matron smiled, shut the smile off quickly”; Mrs Gadny laughs nervously if her actions are questioned. In Chapman’s Odyssey, Harry warns that “my grins are misleading”. Your laughter, nonetheless, is sincere.

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If You Want the Facts Behind the Fiction

Besides novels, Paul Bailey served as a talented life writer, issuing two personal accounts. the memoir An Immaculate Mistake (from 1990) stands as a masterpiece of reminiscence, its title derived from his mother’s words that “You were our mistake. You ought not to be here, by rights.”. (“Aged, she was releasing her confidences,” he notes. “This one, she knew, would be of particular interest to me.”) Within these pages appear the roots for confused, affectionate, irritating parental figures in his novels. It also paints a beautiful image of a gay youth in the 1940s–50s, when same-sex acts were criminal, and his relatives considered it strange for a boy to buy his mother flowers; and of a hopeful performer (Bailey acted preceding his literary career) who could recite Hamlet as a teen. His second memoir A Dog’s Life (from 2004) concentrates on days with his pet Circe, his former partner David, his love for Romania—that influenced future works including Kitty and Virgil, Uncle Rudolf, as well as The Prince’s Boy—and plenty of gossip, with a story involving author Iris Murdoch calling an audience member a “stupid cow”.

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If You’re Pressed for Time

Paul Bailey’s books tend to be short—the impactful Old Soldiers (from 1980) is under 100 pages—but for something shorter, explore his poems from later years. The two books the poetry collection Inheritance (from 2019) and also Joie de Vivre (2022) exhibit his humor, compassion, accuracy in small packages. These verses are rich with death and life. Two affectionate topics reappear: for his mother (“I’m closer to you now – / I need to tell you – / than I ever was in life”) and for his spouse Jeremy Trevathan. In that piece, he writes of the happiness from viewing “a silly TV show” as a couple, concluding with: “It’s remarkable, this simple act of consuming cheese and wine as darkness falls.”

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If You Only Read One

There is little debate that Paul Bailey’s boldest work remains Gabriel’s Lament, shortlisted for the Booker prize in 1986. (He was a Booker judge in 1982, a role he disliked.) This work the author was most proud of, although “it exhausted him completely”. It tells the tale of Gabriel Harvey, with a missing mother and a father who becomes an unbearable snob after inheriting wealth, with possible connections. It acts as a representation of London in the 1900s, an account of psychological collapse, and both comic and tragic as anything Bailey wrote. To continue, it led to a follow-up, Sugar Cane (published in 1993), which the author studied by attending brothels to observe.