The Great Pursuit
Encyclopedia
The Great Pursuit is a 1977 comic novel
by Tom Sharpe
. It is a satire encompassing commercialism in publishing and literary criticism.
, New York
, the Deep South
and the Maine
coast.
One day, a manuscript for a book called Pause O Men for the Virgin arrives at the agency, together with a note from the author's solicitor, saying that the author wishes to remain anonymous and that the agency has carte blanche on how it deals with the book. The book turns out to deal with the love affair between an 80-year old woman and a 17-year old youth.
The populist American publisher Hutchmeyer agrees to sign a deal to publish the book in the United States for $2 million, providing the author carries out a promotional tour of the country. Sonia and Frensic decide to use aspiring but unpublished author Peter Piper to stand in for the anonymous author. But when Piper receives a proof copy of Pause from the publisher by mistake, it takes a certain amount of persuasion and arm-twisting from Sonia Futtle to convince Piper to travel to America.
and habits of the 18th century. He runs a London literary agency,
Frensic and Futtle, with Sonia Futtle. He is known for having a nose
for successful authors, but really he puts this down to knowing what
the public wants.
Sonia Futtle is Frensic's partner in the agency. An American, she is
larger than life in every sense of the word. She has a reputation as a
very persuasive saleswoman.
Peter Piper is a struggling and unpublished author, who has been writing the same book, Search for a Lost Childhood, for at least 10 years. He has a very strong conviction that literature is a worthy and high art, and deplores trash fiction and the dumbing-down of commercial fiction. He only reads what he considers the great authors, and borrows the style of the author he is currently reading for the latest draft of his book.
Hutchmeyer is a brash American publisher, known for publishing unremittingly commercial books. He never reads the books he publishes, and considers authors to be useless members of society, good only for helping him make money.
Baby Hutchmeyer is Hutchmeyer's long suffering wife. Unlike her husband, she is well read and worldly, although she longs to be free of her life as what she sees as a rich man's plaything and her husband's infidelities.
, author of The Great Tradition and The Common Pursuit.
broadcast a 4-part adaptation of The Great Pursuit in 2005, with Sandra Dickinson
as Baby Hutchmeyer, Mark Heap
as Frensic, Laurel Lefkow as Sonia Futtle and Adam Godley
as Peter Piper.
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 Tom Sharpe
Tom Sharpe
Tom Sharpe is an English satirical author, best known for his Wilt series of novels.Sharpe was born in London and moved to South Africa in 1951, where he worked as a social worker and a teacher, before being deported for sedition in 1961...
. It is a satire encompassing commercialism in publishing and literary criticism.
Plot introduction
The story is a farce about greed in the publishing world, and the struggle between literature as a high art and the commercial imperative to reduce it to its lowest common denominator. The action takes place in LondonLondon
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...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, the Deep South
Deep South
The Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the pre-Civil War period...
and the Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
coast.
Plot summary
Frensic and Futtle is a small and successful literary agency. But following a successful court case by a woman who claimed to have been libeled by one of their authors, the agency rapidly loses business.One day, a manuscript for a book called Pause O Men for the Virgin arrives at the agency, together with a note from the author's solicitor, saying that the author wishes to remain anonymous and that the agency has carte blanche on how it deals with the book. The book turns out to deal with the love affair between an 80-year old woman and a 17-year old youth.
The populist American publisher Hutchmeyer agrees to sign a deal to publish the book in the United States for $2 million, providing the author carries out a promotional tour of the country. Sonia and Frensic decide to use aspiring but unpublished author Peter Piper to stand in for the anonymous author. But when Piper receives a proof copy of Pause from the publisher by mistake, it takes a certain amount of persuasion and arm-twisting from Sonia Futtle to convince Piper to travel to America.
Characters in "The Great Pursuit"
Frederick Frensic is something of an anachronism, adhering to stylesand habits of the 18th century. He runs a London literary agency,
Frensic and Futtle, with Sonia Futtle. He is known for having a nose
for successful authors, but really he puts this down to knowing what
the public wants.
Sonia Futtle is Frensic's partner in the agency. An American, she is
larger than life in every sense of the word. She has a reputation as a
very persuasive saleswoman.
Peter Piper is a struggling and unpublished author, who has been writing the same book, Search for a Lost Childhood, for at least 10 years. He has a very strong conviction that literature is a worthy and high art, and deplores trash fiction and the dumbing-down of commercial fiction. He only reads what he considers the great authors, and borrows the style of the author he is currently reading for the latest draft of his book.
Hutchmeyer is a brash American publisher, known for publishing unremittingly commercial books. He never reads the books he publishes, and considers authors to be useless members of society, good only for helping him make money.
Baby Hutchmeyer is Hutchmeyer's long suffering wife. Unlike her husband, she is well read and worldly, although she longs to be free of her life as what she sees as a rich man's plaything and her husband's infidelities.
Title
The book's title refers to a text book by Dr Sydney Louth, whom Frensic read English Literature under at Oxford. This is a thinly disguised reference to real life critic F. R. LeavisF. R. Leavis
Frank Raymond "F. R." Leavis CH was an influential British literary critic of the early-to-mid-twentieth century. He taught for nearly his entire career at Downing College, Cambridge.-Early life:...
, author of The Great Tradition and The Common Pursuit.
Adaptations
BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
broadcast a 4-part adaptation of The Great Pursuit in 2005, with Sandra Dickinson
Sandra Dickinson
Sandra Dickinson is an American-British actress. She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She has often played a dumb blonde with a high-pitched voice in the UK – notably commencing in the St...
as Baby Hutchmeyer, Mark Heap
Mark Heap
Mark Heap is an English actor. He began his acting career in the 1980s as a member of the Medieval Players, a touring company performing medieval and early modern theatre, and featuring stilt-walking, juggling and puppetry...
as Frensic, Laurel Lefkow as Sonia Futtle and Adam Godley
Adam Godley
Adam Godley is an English actor.-Biography:Adam Godley has appeared in numerous movies including Love Actually, Elizabeth: The Golden Age and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ....
as Peter Piper.