Porterhouse Blue

By Tom Sharpe

Book Overview

The basis of a PBS miniseries, Porterhouse Blue confirms that Tom Sharpe is "an excellent writer and absolutely hilarious. His characterizations are deft, his plots are brilliant, and his prose style is smooth and winning" (P.J. O'Rourke).

To Porterhouse College-bastion of a formidable crew team, lavish dining hall and wine cellar, and laughable academic standards-comes a crusading new Master. Porterhouse alumni believe in manly sports, the royal family, and brandy in the library with a fervor they bring to few intellectual positions. And the college upholds a long tradition of granting degrees to a certain number of muttonheaded young gentlemen of enviable pedigree and adequate family contribution to the school's treasury.

The new Master, afire with liberal zeal, upsets everyone's digestion with a speech outlining plans to do things that simply aren't done: the admission of women, a cafeteria to replace the revered service of the kitchens, and contraceptive dispensers in every bathroom. The shock of the new and modern rattles even the college retainers. The head porter, Skullion, perhaps the staunchest supporter of the old way, rallies some powerful graduates to the cause, including the illustrious Canon Bowel and the madly wealthy-and plain mad-Sir Cathcart D'Eath. Their counterrevolutionary efforts result, among other peculiar events, in the most bizarre disaster seen at Cambridge in five hundred years, and in an escalation of threats, bluffs, and maneuvers to shame the shadiest of politicians. And the production of an investigative documentary on the strange doings at Porterhouse precipitates scandal of the highest order and an utterly unforeseeable conclusion.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0871132796
• ISBN13: 9780871132796
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

A first class read!!

Sharpe is very sharp indeed with Porterhouse Blue. He captures the atmosphere of English academic conservatism at its very funny and ironic best. And the best that can be said about PB is that you won't want to put the book down until it's finished - definitely a one-sitting read! So many plots and counter plots that will keep you guessing and wanting to turn the page. Go buy it immediately, before you have a Porterhouse Blue...

Laugh Out Loud Funny

I listened to the unabridged audio version of this book, and laughed from the beginning to the end. I've also listened to Ancestral Vices, another very funny book. I think the way to tell if a book is really funny is to read it (or listen to it)again, and if you still laugh hysterically, while already knowing the outcome, it really is well done. Porterhouse Blue passed this test with flying colors, as it kept me awake and entertained driving through the night on a cross-country journey.

Underrated satire

Why Sharpe is not as well known in this country as lesser talents is beyond me. A classic satire of British politics and society circa late 60s-early 70s set in an English College (based on Peterhouse?). The machinations of the dean and his subordinates to preserve the status quo in the face of the new liberal head are hilarious. Even better is the twist ending which reveals the true nature of class conflict in Britain. Also features a hilarious explosion involving a disturbed student, an elderly chambermaid, and a box of condoms. To find out more, read this most excellent book.

Made me laugh out loud!

I love this book (warning: the sequel was a big disapointment) from an author who knows how to take a situation and add layers of sub-plot until everything goes crazy. For those who love british humour