The Walpole Orange

By Frank Muir

Book Overview

William Grundwick has a problem. As secretary of the Walpole Club he's duty-bound to arrange whatever function the Events Committee decides is appropriate to celebrate the Club's 250th birthday. It's just that what they have decided upon seems to William almost wholly inappropriate; worse still he's not sure he knows precisely what form such a function should take. And if that isn't bad enough, the whole business is supposed to be a deep secret, so he can't even discuss it with his lovely young wife Milly. Milly has her own problems. Is she going off William? His secretiveness is certainly disturbing. And now the Baroque Trio she runs has lost its viola and continuo player - Catriona has decamped to Los Angeles with a session guitarist called Trev. Torn between the demands of the Events Committee, Milly, and an accountant in a diaphanous sari, spied on by a treacherous underporter with a hotline to the tabloids and pressurized by the chairperson of the Golden Horn Ladies Belly-Dancing Ensemble, Catford, the harrassed William has some appallingly difficult decisions to make. The Walpole Orange , astonishingly, is Frank Muir's first novel. As one might expect from Britain's leading humorist, it is highly imaginative, wickedly witty and utterly irresistible.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0552141364
• ISBN13: 9780552141369
• Release Date: December 1994
• Publisher: Corgi Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Utterly Delightful

The late Frank Muir was a consummate writer of humorous prose. He has long been linked with Denis Norden in a successful career in British broadcasting. This book fairly drips with englishness and is a delight to read and an even greater delight to listen to when read by the author in his slighty lispish manner. I bought the 'What a Mess' series of childrens books by this author well before it was picked up for televising and our children now borrow them in turn for their own families.

A wonderfully enjoyable book.

I wish Frank Muir had written more books like this. I found it a delight to read and I can only describe it as a warm and humorous story to sink into. The only fault I found with The Walpole Orange was that it ended, as all good things do. It delves into the crux of how the Lords and Old Boys of a gentlemens club really want to celebrate the clubs 250th anniversary. Plans keep falling flat and the club secratary is frantic that the whole thing will be leaked to the press. Secrecy is paramount! The Belly dancers aren't what they seem and there could be more to the alternative act than what has been promised. The characters in The Walpole Orange make the whole story come alive. If you enjoy good old british comedy then be prepared for a good laugh and a good read.