Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10170 in Books
• Published on: 2005-02-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Review
'this splendidly entertaining novel.' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING 'it's the brittle, crystalline dialogue and the brilliant satire of the 21st century dinner-party set, that ensure the pages keep turning.' THE OBSERVER 'a modern comedy of manners. The plot includes a disapproving mother-in-law and some serious impediments to Edith's attempts at social climbing of epic proportions. This is a witty bestseller from Julian Fellowes, the Oscar-winning writer of the hit film Gosford park.' DAILY EXPRESS 'Astute and wonderfully witty, this is an interesting insight into the world of the upper classes.' COMPANY 'A wonderfully fresh novel that immerses the reader in a world most culd never dream of entering. Julian Fellowes's wit and sharp observational skills brighten every page.' WATERSTONE'S BOOK QUARTERLY 'an entertaining read.' NEW BOOKS

COMPANY
'Astute and wonderfully witty, this is an interesting insight into the world of the upper classes.'

NEW BOOKS
'an entertaining read.'

Customer Reviews

Mockery from Within
This not-quite-debut novel (Fellowes wrote several romance novels in the mid-'70s under the name Rebecca Greville, including "Poison Presented" and "Court in the Terror") ought to appeal to fans of his 2001 Oscar-winning script for the film Gosford Park. A straightforward satirical comedy of manners set among the upper classes of mid-'90s England and those who aspire to join them, the book is a frothy comic brew which skewers both parties with the kind of pitch-perfect subtle writing that it seems only the British can pull off. The story is quite simple, a pretty woman from an upper middle-class family whose mother has pretentions decides to ensnare a hugely wealthy and dull aristocratic man in order to "marry up" into the upper classes which still hold such a mystique and importance in British society. The man's mother, a formidable Marchioness aims to prevent this from occurring but fails. The young woman discovers that life at the top isn't as exciting as she anticipated and runs off with an handsome actor to great scandal. Will anyone find happiness at the end?

This is all more or less narrated by a semi-aristocratic actor (clearly very much like the author) who is able to move between all worlds due to his upbringing and career. He starts the book as a friend of the young woman and a very passing acquaintance of the young man, and ends up becoming a bridge between worlds and at the latter stages, a kind of discreet go-between. It is his penetrating sardonic insights and the witty formulations thereof which lend what substance there is to this otherwise straightforward love story. Much of the novel involves the narrator spelling out the unspoken rules of the game for the reader in deliciously mocking detail. The main flaw in most satire is that it is too broad or unsubtle, but here the narrator's mockery of the artificially preserved world of the aristocracy is all the more effective from its insider position. To be sure, the characters are mostly "types" without a whole lot of substance or depth to them (the boorish rich pig, the nasty arriviste, the brisk no-nonsense wife, the ice queen, the social climber, etc.), but that's kind of the point as well. A great deal of the satire is that these upper crust people have no personality, that they are all just filling the roles they've seen before them and imagine will extend after them forever. Ultimately, the book is somewhat bittersweet in that the writing is quite amusing, but one can't help but feel slightly sorry for how unhappy so many of the characters are (even if they aren't particularly deeply drawn). On the other hand, it's not too hard to feel like it's a case of them getting their just desserts...

A nearly perfect treat of a book
A thoroughly enjoyable book and one, I was surprised to find, that stayed with me longer than usual after I'd finished it - probably because beneath the humour and even despite the happy ending, it is quite sad. It seems awful that Charles, the heroine's decent husband, should suffer so merely because he is titled and rich but not interesting or clever enough, and I couldn't help feeling that the strength, intelligence and self-discipline of the Lady Uckfields of this world could sort out the entire planet, if only the business of snobbery didn't demand so much of their time and all of their resources.
The satire is beautifully done - it has bite, true, but Fellowes does not fall into the tedious and common trap of either despising or glorifying the people about whom he writes. The detail is glorious and funny. Strongly recommended - and I do hope he keeps on writing!

Hello! I'm OK!
Although they might intermingle within the pages of Hello! the aristocrat and the A'list celebrity live in different worlds. However, Julian Fellowes has a foot in both worlds and, like many before him, his first novel is set within an environment he is familiar with. The plot is a sort of 'menages trois' (Julian's characters have a fondness for lapsing into French) but like Gosford Park the plot isn't that riveting, where Julian excels is in social anthropology. If you believed, like John Major, that we were on the brink of a classless society then let Julian reveal the truth to you as he explains little oddities such as the upper classes usage of their nursery nicknames throughout their life. Peppered with insights and seasoned with scandal but not over done, a rare treat for escapist reading.