Going Gently

Going Gently

David Nobbs

David Nobbs

Kate Thomas was beautiful, intelligent, witty, passionate and sexy. Now, at the ripe old age of ninety-nine, she is trapped in a hospital ward of sad, mad and bad old women. She escapes by playing to herself the video of her life. What a life it has been. Her six marriages have ended in suicide, a husband's adultery, another husband's deportation as a dangerous alien, a union dispute, a murder, and a natural death. But Kate's journey through the twentieth century is also a search for the truth - about life, death, and which of her three sons murdered her fifth husband.This is a novel rich in memorable characters, from Kate's narrow but loving Welsh family to the wild members of an artists' colony in Cornwall; from Midland piston manufacturers to an investigative journalist whose own life cannot bear investigation.
Read online
  • 63
Obstacles to Young Love

Obstacles to Young Love

David Nobbs

David Nobbs

From one of the greatest comedic writers of a generation comes a story of love, faith and taxidermy.'Three mighty obstacles threaten the burgeoning love of childhood sweethearts Timothy Pickering and Naomi Walls. They are Steven Venables, a dead curlew and God.'1978: Two lovers perch precariously on the cusp of adulthood. Timothy's father decides it's time for him to take on the family taxidermy business; while Naomi dreams of a career on stage.Across the decades their lives continue to interweave, and occasionally cross -- bound by the pull of intoxicating first love. But will their destinies ultimately unite them?Nobbs moves his exceptional comic talent to a new-found depth. Memorable and moving, a tale of love won and love lost. You will never look at the art of taxidermy in the same way again.
Read online
  • 55
Pratt a Manger

Pratt a Manger

David Nobbs

David Nobbs

When pretty young TV researcher Nicky Proctor visits Cafe Henry in London's Soho, Henry Pratt's life changes forever. He becomes an instant star of the TV food quiz, A Question of Salt and before long he is given his own series, Hooray, it's Henry. The book of the series reaches Number Two. He's a celebrity. Henry Ezra Pratt has come a long way from his humble beginnings.But, as usual in Henry's life, things begin to go wrong. He incurs the deep hatred of rival celebrity chef Bradley Tompkins, with his bad manners, bad wig and no Michelin stars. A war is waged against him, escalating into plots and deceptions which threaten to destroy the reputation and career of the man dubbed 'The People's Chef'. It must be Bradley behind all this -- or must it? On the domestic front, too, there are storms ahead. Henry is blissfully happy in his second marriage to Hilary, but he is sorely tempted by young Nicky and his lovely co-star Sally. Can he resist? Can he become a real man at last?...
Read online
  • 47
The Itinerant Lodger

The Itinerant Lodger

David Nobbs

David Nobbs

David Nobbs classic is now available in ebook format. One wintry afternoon a lodger named Wilson arrives at 38, Trebisall Avenue, filled with hope. As he crosses the threshold of Mrs Pollard's house, with its "aura of impending stew" he becomes a new man. This is a tactic he has tried before, just as he has tried many jobs before, from cook to seismographer's assistant. But alas, each time he was sacked because it was not his vocation. And so he has moved on, from town to town, from landlady to landlady: from Mrs McManus of Barnstaple, to Mrs McManus of Newport (I.O.W). Now, under the motherly eye of Mrs Pollard, he attempts a number of new vocations including those of poet and postman. Strange things befall him in the process: he is even tried and convicted for scandalous offences of which he has no recollection. But his progress continues, out through the end of this book, in search of a panacea for all mankind.
Read online
  • 29
Sex and Other Changes

Sex and Other Changes

David Nobbs

David Nobbs

Every time someone changes sex, there's one less freak in the worldMeet the Divots. They seem a happily married couple, in their cosy suburban home in a cosy suburban town. Then, one day, everything begins to change. Nick drops his bombshell. He wants to become Nicola. Alison is extremely upset, naturally. But she has more reason than most to be upset, because she has a secret too. She wants to become Alan. Nick has pulled the rug from under her. However, she's always been the supportive type and she'll wait her turn.Will Nick become Nicola? Can Alison become Alan? Can both partners in a marriage change sex and save their marriage? What effect will this have on their children, the sexy Emma and the hi-tech loner Graham? There are dramatic changes in store for them too - and for Alison's father, Bernie. In the spirit of David Nobbs' acclaimed novel Going Gently, Sex and Other Changes is a funny, touching and compassionate study of what...
Read online
  • 29
A Bit of a Do

A Bit of a Do

David Nobbs

David Nobbs

From the author of the Reginald Perrin series comes a classic tale of two families, one posher than the other, set in a Yorkshire town. 'I'm the groom's father. You're the bride's mother. It's their wedding day.' When Ted Simcock, maker of toasting forks in a small Yorkshire town, tries to avoid the inevitable with beautiful dentist's wife Liz Rodenhurst, his anguished attempt fails utterly, with huge consequences for both their families.From one awkward 'do' to the next, via a dentists' dinner dance and the Crowning of Miss Frozen Chicken (UK), the fall-out touches everyone, but none more than Liz's husband Laurence and Ted's wife Rita, the unexpected heroine of this tale. Charting the relationship of newlyweds Paul and Jenny, along with the infamous coupling of their respective parents, Ted and Liz, this book will have you cringing, crying and laughing out loud.
Read online
  • 27
The Second Life of Sally Mottram

The Second Life of Sally Mottram

David Nobbs

David Nobbs

The wonderfully entertaining new novel from bestselling author of The Fall and Rise of Reggie Perrin. Long-time Potherthwaite resident Sally Mottram cannot stand the decline of her town. The bookshop is about to close, abandoned buildings line the canal and Potherthwaite's residents seem stuck in a disheartened rut. Something has to be done, but what? And who will do it? When an unexpected tragedy shatters Sally's life, she bravely takes on the task herself. Supported by a group of locals, including thrice-married Marigold Boyce-Willoughby, who is forever looking for love, and married couple Jill and Arnold Buss, who might both be falling for their new neighbours, Sally embarks on her ambition to bring the town back to life. But can one woman rally a whole community to save itself? David Nobbs' much-anticipated new novel is a hilarious, heartwarming tale about what keeps our community spirits alive.
Read online
  • 15
Fair Do's

Fair Do's

David Nobbs

David Nobbs

The classic follow-up to A Bit of A Do, about the comedy of Yorkshire life, told through seven more do's is now available in ebook format. Life is still a social minefield in this small Yorkshire town. From the opening of a vegetarian restaurant to the inauguration of the Outer Inner Relief Ring Road, join Ted and Liz as they struggle through another series of excruciatingly funny 'do's' in this sequel to A BIT OF A DO. Can Ted find happiness with a waitress, now that he and Liz are no longer an item? Can Liz bring comfort to the grieving Neville, her strangely immaculate second husband? Above all, how will Ted's ex-wife Rita manage as her family becomes more dysfunctional at every function? Can she possibly be as happy as she seems?
Read online
  • 8
183