Product Description

The place is St Oswald's, an old and long-established boys' grammar school in the north of England. A new year has just begun, and for the staff and boys of the school, a wind of unwelcome change is blowing. Suits, paperwork and Information Technology rule the world and Roy Straitley, Latin master, eccentric, and veteran of St Oswald's, is finally - reluctantly - contemplating retirement. But beneath the little rivalries, petty disputes and everyday crises of the school, a darker undercurrent stirs. And a bitter grudge, hidden and carefully nurtured for thirteen years, is about to erupt. Who is Mole, the mysterious insider, whose cruel practical jokes are gradually escalating towards violence - and perhaps, murder? And how can an old and half-forgotten scandal become the stone that brings down a giant?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8338 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Daily Express, June 16 2006
'A delicious black comedy...a clever story of obsession and revenge, with a spectacular final twist'

From the Back Cover
‘Wildly entertaining…a literary gobstopper’
Independent on Sunday

At St Oswald’s, an old and long-established boys’ grammar school in the north of England, a new year has just begun. For the staff and boys of the school, a wind of unwelcome change is blowing. Suits, paperwork and Information Technology rule the world; and Roy Straitley, Latin master, eccentric, and veteran of St Oswald’s, is finally – reluctantly – contemplating retirement.

But beneath the little rivalries, petty disputes and everyday crises of the school, a darker undercurrent stirs. And a bitter grudge, hidden and carefully nurtured for thirteen years, is about to erupt.

‘Constantly surprising and wickedly fun’
Washington Post

'A clever story of obsession and revenge…Ms Harris has scored another success'
Sunday Telegraph

‘Harris is one of the best popular authors around and this latest will only enhance her reputation’
Scotsman

About the Author
Joanne Harris is the author of the Whitbread-shortlisted Chocolat (made into a major film starring Juliette Binoche), Blackberry Wine, Five Quarters of the Orange, Coastliners, Holy Fools, Jigs & Reels, Sleep, Pale Sister and, with Fran Warde, The French Kitchen: A Cookbook and The French Market: More Recipes from a French Kitchen. Joanne lives in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, with her husband and daughter.

Customer Reviews

brilliant!
Quite different as no french connection. Terrific read. Ddin't see the "twist" coming!! Highly recommended.

Best read this year
Brilliantly written, you could feel yourself in the school amongst the teachers. The ever more dramatic twists and turns keep you on edge and the final surprise is utterly brilliant in conception. Having been initially unenthused by the subject matter, and really only reading the book as I came across it in a charity shop and had enjoyed 'Blackberry Wine' so much - I cannot remember enjoying a book this much in years. The only difficulty I had was remembering who all the various characters were, although wikipaedia does a good summary if you are easily confused, like me!

A slow starter, but well-worth persevering with!
I am a long-time fan of Joanne Harris' work, so when I picked up Gentlemen and Players I was certain I would find a book that was exciting and completely absorbing, and luckily, I was not disappointed.

Gentlemen and Players is a book told from the first person (in two characters), about a child who lives in the shadow of an imposing private school where their father is the porter. They attend the local comprehensive, and their childhood revolves around their fascination with and abhorrence of St Oswalds and what it stands for. The story is a little slow-starting (I actually stopped reading it the first time I tried), and it does jump from past-tense to present tense, and the point of view changes from the child to one of the teachers at the school, but once you have read a few chapters it becomes easy to determine who is speaking and when they are speaking of.

While I don't believe that Gentlemen and Players is Harris's best book (I throroughly recommend Chocolat and Five Quarters of the Orange), it is still a thrilling tale with interesting plot twists. Definitely worth a few hours of your time.