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Paul Bailey, who passed away last year at 87, was renowned for his witty genius, deep empathy extending to his most flawed characters, and an intelligence that never felt cold. His literary works often explored the role of remembrance in shaping lives, propelled by clever, syncopated conversations. In addition to storytelling, he also excelled as a poet, memoir writer, and additional roles—here is a guide to the books he left behind.

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Works That Offer Solace

The author appeared as a gregarious individual, a master conversationalist with a love for lighthearted gossip, as one character notes. Together with companion author Beryl Bainbridge often enjoyed Coronation Street and discuss it over calls. This enjoyment of informal dialogues is evident in his novels Trespasses (from 1970) as well as Peter Smart’s Confessions (dating to 1977). Both feature a main male protagonist surrounded by comic, maddening, theatrical individuals, often close relatives whose impact cannot be avoided. “Who wants to be normal anyway?” asks the mother of Ralph in Trespasses when he reveals he is gay. Comparable to hanging out with your smartest, cheekiest pal.

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The Ones to Make You Laugh and Cry

Paul Bailey authored superbly on old age, throughout his literary path. His first book At the Jerusalem (from 1967) details the journey of Faith Gadny during her transition to a care facility, where other occupants supply compassion absent in employees, whose concern through questions “Why not view the TV, ladies?”. In his penultimate novel Chapman’s Odyssey (released in 2011), an aged patient moves between clashing with physicians (“I only drink superior wines”, he insists following criticism of his liver) and experiencing a rush of recollections from his parent, romances, fictional icons including Pip by Dickens and Emma by Austen. Each volume are filled with funny exchanges however tinged with the inevitable conclusion. Throughout his novels, smiles are deceptive. Within At the Jerusalem, “the matron grinned, then ended it abruptly”; Faith Gadny chuckles anxiously if her actions are questioned. Within Chapman’s Odyssey, Harry advises that “my laughter is not genuine”. Your laughter, nonetheless, is sincere.

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To Understand the Truth Beneath the Tales

In addition to fiction, Bailey was a skilled autobiographer, publishing two autobiographies. the memoir An Immaculate Mistake (1990) is a masterwork of memory, its title derived from his mother’s words calling him “our error” and saying he shouldn’t exist. (“She was old now, and letting go of her secrets,” he adds. “She understood this would captivate me.”) Here we see the origins for confused, affectionate, irritating parental figures within his fiction. It likewise portrays a beautiful image of a homosexual young man during the mid-20th century, during a time of anti-gay laws, and his kin viewed it as suspicious for a boy to buy his mother flowers; and of a would-be thespian (The writer was on stage preceding his literary career) who could recite Hamlet as a teen. His follow-up autobiography A Dog’s Life (2004) focuses on life with his mongrel puppy Circe, his former partner David, his affection for Romania—that influenced subsequent books such as Kitty and Virgil, Uncle Rudolf, as well as The Prince’s Boy—and loads of chatter, featuring an anecdote about Iris Murdoch calling an audience member an “idiot”.

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If You’re Pressed for Time

The author’s fiction are mostly concise—the notable Old Soldiers (published in 1980) is just over 100 pages—yet for an even briefer option, sample his verse from his later career. The pair of volumes Inheritance (published in 2019) and also Joie de Vivre (from 2022) showcase his humor, compassion, accuracy in condensed form. These poems contain endings and beginnings. Two romantic motifs repeat: for his mother (“I feel nearer to you now—/ I must confess—/ than when you lived”) and for his partner Jeremy Trevathan. In that piece, he writes of the joy of enjoying “foolish television” side by side, ending with: “It’s remarkable, this simple act of consuming cheese and wine as darkness falls.”

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For a Single Must-Read

There is little debate that Paul Bailey’s boldest work is Gabriel’s Lament, shortlisted for the Booker prize in 1986. (He also judged the prize in 1982, a role he disliked.) This work the author was most proud of, despite the fact “it consumed all his energy”. It tells the tale of Gabriel Harvey, with a missing mother and a father who becomes an insufferable elitist upon receiving money, with possible connections. It acts as a representation of 20th-century London, a tale of emotional unraveling, and equally humorous and sorrowful as anything Bailey wrote. Additionally, it prompted a sequel, Sugar Cane (published in 1993), that he investigated by going to such places to watch.