The Diary of a Nobody

  • Author George Grossmith, Weedon Grossmith
  • Narrator Frederick Davidson
  • Publisher Blackstone Publishing
  • Run Time 4 hours and 31 minutes
  • Format Audio
  • Genre Classic fiction, Humorous fiction.
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What to expect

Says Charles Pooter, “I fail to see—because I do not happen to be a ‘somebody’—why my diary should not be interesting.” Surprisingly, Mr. Pooter’s life is fascinating. The fascination is two-fold: firstly, his astounding arrogance that we should care about his domestic trivia and narcissistic scribblings. Secondly, we can all sympathize with (and wince at!) this ridiculous slave to convention.

Above all, Mr. Pooter’s life is funny. His constant battles with tradesmen, his pathetic pride and banal wit, his clashes with his carefree son, his absurd social crises and petty dilemmas: all are part of Mr. Pooter’s life as a worried, proud, and anxious Nobody! Listeners are certain to learn why Hilaire Belloc asserted that Pooter was “an immortal achievement.”

Critics Review

  • “The great thing about Pooter is that he is still lovable in all his self-important absurdity. He always tries to make the best of everything, and although he is a figure of fun, his celebration of a life that leaves little mark upon the world is gently moving.”

    Guardian (London)
  • “[A] masterpiece of comic irony…Frederick Davidson’s impeccable reading is truly inspired, in perfect unity with the Pooteresque view of the world.”

    AudioFile
  • “One of the funniest books ever written.”

    Andrew Davies, British author and screenwriter
  • “The idea that this man is one of themselves, but that readers can see what he does not, whilst still feeling benevolently sympathetic towards him—that they are, in some way, superior to their neighbor—provides the most enduring ground for the Diary’s popularity.”

    Kate Flint, author of The Victorians and the Visual Imagination

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