Take a Girl Like You
Encyclopedia
Take A Girl Like You is a comic novel
by Kingsley Amis
. Set in the 1950s, it follows the progress of twenty year old Jenny Bunn, as she moves from her family home in the North of England to a London
suburb to teach primary school children. Jenny is a traditional Northern working-class girl whose striking good looks are in sharp contrast to her prosaic upbringing, and to her strong belief that a girl should preserve her virginity
until her wedding night. Because of her attractiveness, Jenny's views on virginity and marriage cause conflicts. The novel centres on the (increasingly desperate and cruel) attempts of Patrick Standish, a 30 year old schoolmaster at the local grammar school
, to seduce Jenny, against a backdrop of his skirmishes with his school authorities and with the shabby, suburban middle class milieu in which the novel is set.
, is at odds with academic authority. In this novel, however, these difficulties and differences form the backdrop. The main story focuses on Patrick's increasingly morally dubious efforts to seduce Jenny. Much of the novel's comic element stems from Amis' presentation of naive Jenny's observations of the strange, southern petit-bourgeois world she has entered.
.
Jenny soon meets Patrick Standish, an acquaintance of the Thompsons, who is immediately attracted to her. Patrick takes Jenny on a date to what seems to her to be a fashionable, upmarket Italian restaurant, but which Amis makes clear is a classless suburban pseudo-Italianate place. Impressed, Jenny lets Patrick take her back to the house he shares with Graham, an unattractive Scottish schoolmaster. Heavy petting ensues and Patrick assumes that Jenny will sleep with him, but instead she rebuffs him and explains that she intends to remain a virgin until she is married. The rest of the novel concerns itself with Patrick's attempts to seduce Jenny (and his first efforts at sexual fidelity), and with Jenny's attempts to fend off his attentions and those of many others who are attracted to her. Eventually, Patrick gives Jenny an ultimatum: either she goes to bed with him or the relationship is over. Jenny finds herself unable to comply and they part. However, at a party given by the flashy and dubious Julian Ormerod (occupation unclear), Patrick takes advantage of an inebriated and defenceless Jenny in a guest bedroom. When she realises what has happened, Jenny is furious and tells Patrick she never wants to see him again; later the same day she decides to accept what she believes is her "destiny" and they reunite.
, Woolf
and Joyce
, has been described as "neo-realist". Rabinovitz writes of these neo-realist writers that:
In order to bring the world of the novel as close as possible to the physical world of the reader, Amis takes great care to describe in great detail, in what appear to be a series of entirely incidental details, physical details: the minutia of the lodging house, for example, are meticulously (and humorously) described
The plot of Take A Girl Like You also follows traditional realistic conventions and has been compared to the plot of Samuel Richardson
's Clarissa
, published in 1748. Like Jenny Bunn, Richardson's Clarissa is young, beautiful and virtuous, and attempts to defend her virginity whilst providing an opportunity for the next assault.
, directed by Jonathan Miller
from an adaptation by George Melly
. It starred Hayley Mills
, Oliver Reed
, Sheila Hancock
, Ronald Lacey
, John Bird
, Noel Harrison
, Aimi MacDonald
and Penelope Keith
. A three part television
series adapted by Andrew Davies
was made in 2000.
Comic novel
A comic novel is a work of fiction in which the writer not only seeks to amuse the reader, but also to make the reader think about controversial issues, sometimes with subtlety and as part of a carefully woven narrative; sometimes, above all other considerations...
by Kingsley Amis
Kingsley Amis
Sir Kingsley William Amis, CBE was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, various short stories, radio and television scripts, along with works of social and literary criticism...
. Set in the 1950s, it follows the progress of twenty year old Jenny Bunn, as she moves from her family home in the North of England to a London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
suburb to teach primary school children. Jenny is a traditional Northern working-class girl whose striking good looks are in sharp contrast to her prosaic upbringing, and to her strong belief that a girl should preserve her virginity
Virginity
Virginity refers to the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. There are cultural and religious traditions which place special value and significance on this state, especially in the case of unmarried females, associated with notions of personal purity, honor and worth...
until her wedding night. Because of her attractiveness, Jenny's views on virginity and marriage cause conflicts. The novel centres on the (increasingly desperate and cruel) attempts of Patrick Standish, a 30 year old schoolmaster at the local grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
, to seduce Jenny, against a backdrop of his skirmishes with his school authorities and with the shabby, suburban middle class milieu in which the novel is set.
Background
Take A Girl Like You was Kingsley Amis's fourth novel. Published in 1960, it is set in the recent past of the 1950s. The 'ingredients' of the novel are similar to those in Amis's previous three works, yet this novel displays a shift in focus and pattern, and a development of themes. There is an anti-hero—Patrick Standish—who, like the eponymous hero of Lucky JimLucky Jim
Lucky Jim is an academic satire written by Kingsley Amis, first published in 1954 by Victor Gollancz. It was Amis's first novel, and won the Somerset Maugham Award for fiction...
, is at odds with academic authority. In this novel, however, these difficulties and differences form the backdrop. The main story focuses on Patrick's increasingly morally dubious efforts to seduce Jenny. Much of the novel's comic element stems from Amis' presentation of naive Jenny's observations of the strange, southern petit-bourgeois world she has entered.
Plot
The novel opens with Jenny Bunn's arrival at her lodging-house. She's a young, strikingly beautiful, provincial Northern woman who has moved to a London suburb to take her first teaching job. Jenny has rented a room in the home of a middle-aged couple, Dick and Martha Thompson. Dick Thompson is apparently some sort of an auctioneer and his wife Martha Thompson is bored, cynical, and openly suspicious of attractive young Jenny. The Thompsons' other lodger, Anna, is apparently FrenchFrench people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
.
Jenny soon meets Patrick Standish, an acquaintance of the Thompsons, who is immediately attracted to her. Patrick takes Jenny on a date to what seems to her to be a fashionable, upmarket Italian restaurant, but which Amis makes clear is a classless suburban pseudo-Italianate place. Impressed, Jenny lets Patrick take her back to the house he shares with Graham, an unattractive Scottish schoolmaster. Heavy petting ensues and Patrick assumes that Jenny will sleep with him, but instead she rebuffs him and explains that she intends to remain a virgin until she is married. The rest of the novel concerns itself with Patrick's attempts to seduce Jenny (and his first efforts at sexual fidelity), and with Jenny's attempts to fend off his attentions and those of many others who are attracted to her. Eventually, Patrick gives Jenny an ultimatum: either she goes to bed with him or the relationship is over. Jenny finds herself unable to comply and they part. However, at a party given by the flashy and dubious Julian Ormerod (occupation unclear), Patrick takes advantage of an inebriated and defenceless Jenny in a guest bedroom. When she realises what has happened, Jenny is furious and tells Patrick she never wants to see him again; later the same day she decides to accept what she believes is her "destiny" and they reunite.
Style
Amis's style, in common with that of other mid-twentieth century writers, but in contrast to that of writers like JamesHenry James
Henry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
, Woolf
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
and Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
, has been described as "neo-realist". Rabinovitz writes of these neo-realist writers that:
"Their styles are plain, their time-sequences are chronological, and they make no use of myth, symbol or stream-of-consciousness inner narratives."
In order to bring the world of the novel as close as possible to the physical world of the reader, Amis takes great care to describe in great detail, in what appear to be a series of entirely incidental details, physical details: the minutia of the lodging house, for example, are meticulously (and humorously) described
"[The kitchen] door had another little brass knocker on it, this time representing a religious-looking person on a donkey. The room was a long narrow one that ended with a further door and a large, oblong, buff-coloured stove. A medium-sized woman with reddish hair and a purple dress was doing something to the stove but stopped when they came in."
The plot of Take A Girl Like You also follows traditional realistic conventions and has been compared to the plot of Samuel Richardson
Samuel Richardson
Samuel Richardson was an 18th-century English writer and printer. He is best known for his three epistolary novels: Pamela: Or, Virtue Rewarded , Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady and The History of Sir Charles Grandison...
's Clarissa
Clarissa
Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady is an epistolary novel by Samuel Richardson, published in 1748. It tells the tragic story of a heroine whose quest for virtue is continually thwarted by her family, and is the longest real novelA completed work that has been released by a publisher in...
, published in 1748. Like Jenny Bunn, Richardson's Clarissa is young, beautiful and virtuous, and attempts to defend her virginity whilst providing an opportunity for the next assault.
Film
It was made into a film in 1970Take a Girl Like You (film)
Take a Girl Like You is a 1970 British comedy film directed by Jonathan Miller and starring Hayley Mills, Oliver Reed, Sheila Hancock, Ronald Lacey, John Bird, Noel Harrison, Aimi MacDonald and Penelope Keith. It was based on the 1960 novel Take a Girl Like You by Kingsley Amis, and was adapted by...
, directed by Jonathan Miller
Jonathan Miller
Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE is a British theatre and opera director, author, physician, television presenter, humorist and sculptor. Trained as a physician in the late 1950s, he first came to prominence in the 1960s with his role in the comedy revue Beyond the Fringe with fellow writers and...
from an adaptation by George Melly
George Melly
Alan George Heywood Melly was an English jazz and blues singer, critic, writer and lecturer. From 1965 to 1973 he was a film and television critic for The Observer and lectured on art history, with an emphasis on surrealism.-Early life and career:He was born in Liverpool and was educated at Stowe...
. It starred Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award...
, Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed was an English actor known for his burly screen presence. Reed exemplified his real-life macho image in "tough guy" roles...
, Sheila Hancock
Sheila Hancock
Sheila Cameron Hancock, CBE is an English actress and author.-Early life:Sheila Hancock was born in Blackgang on the Isle of Wight, the daughter of Ivy Louise and Enrico Cameron Hancock, who was a publican. Her sister Billie is seven years older...
, Ronald Lacey
Ronald Lacey
Ronald Lacey was an English actor. He made numerous television and film appearances over a 30 year period and is perhaps best remembered for his villainous roles in Hollywood films, most famously Major Arnold Toht in Raiders of the Lost Ark.-Career:Lacey attended Harrow Weald Grammar School and...
, John Bird
John Bird (actor)
John Bird is an English satirist, actor and comedian.-Early life:Born in Bulwell, Nottingham, England, and educated at High Pavement Grammar School, Nottingham, Bird briefly joined the Socialist Party of Great Britain, while still at school...
, Noel Harrison
Noel Harrison
Noel Harrison is an English Olympic athlete, actor and singer. He is the son of British actor Sir Rex Harrison.-Early life:...
, Aimi MacDonald
Aimi MacDonald
Aimi MacDonald is a British actress. She is best known for her role as "The Lovely" Aimi MacDonald in the television sketch comedy show At Last the 1948 Show ....
and Penelope Keith
Penelope Keith
Penelope Anne Constance Keith, CBE, DL is an English actress.Having started her television career in the 1950s, Penelope Keith became a household name in the United Kingdom in the 1970s when she played Margo Leadbetter in the sitcom The Good Life...
. A three part television
Take a Girl Like You (TV series)
Take a Girl Like You is a 2000 British television comedy series adapted by Andrew Davies from the 1960 novel Take a Girl Like You by Kingsley Amis. It starred Sienna Guillory, Rupert Graves, Hugh Bonneville, Robert Daws, Leslie Phillips, Emma Chambers, Ian Driver and Deborah Cornelius. It was...
series adapted by Andrew Davies
Andrew Davies (writer)
Andrew Wynford Davies is a British author and screenwriter. He was made a Fellow of BAFTA in 2002.-Education and early career:...
was made in 2000.
Sources
- Farce and Society: The Range of Kingsley Amis, R. B. Parker, Wisconsin Studies in Contemporary Literature, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Autumn, 1961), pp. 27–38