Author:Spike Milligan
'Spike Milligan wrote the book on today's sense of humour'
'But why keep me in the dark, Holmes?'
'It saves electicity, Watson.'
'What is a black spot? Is it an accident?'
'He gave a groan and he was alive! He spoke as he sat up, 'Have you got a fag, mate?'
Welcome to the world of the classic adventure story, hilariously retold by legendary comic Spike Milligan. Relive Robin Hood, in which Little John becomes Big Dick and the Merry Men are joined by Groucho Marx. give yourself the willies with Frankenstein, whose monster comes to life craving a cigarette. join Sherlock Holmes for The Hound Of Baskervilles, where Guinness and Newcastle Brown are taken intravenously and a woman cries in the night. Thrill to Black Beauty as told by the horse himself. And the hunt for buried treasure with Long John Silver, Jim Hawkins and ... Groucho Marx in Treasure Island.
Spike Milligan, the much-loved entertainer, broadcaster and writer, was widely regarded as the most influential British comedian since the Second World War. On his death in 2002, he was remembered as an 'irreverent and hysterical presence' by Prince Charles. Fellow comedian and writer Stephen Fry described Milligan's writing as 'abosutely immortal'.
Milligan is often at his best here ... the effect is both funny ha-ha and funny peculiar.
—— ObserverContemporary Australia lives and breathes, shudders, groans and even scratches without a trace of inhibition throughout these seven vivid narratives from one of the finest of contemporary writers
—— Irish TimesGraceful and unsettling... Malouf's prose is invariably elegant
—— David Flusfeder , Financial TimesA master of the incisive, seamless, turns-on-a-sixpence short story...this collection is a jewel
—— Kate Saunders , The TimesTender and luminous tales...It is his rich landscapes for which Malouf is most often praised and this collection contains some of the most evocative descriptions of the Australian continent
—— Chitra Ramaswamy , Scotland on SundayContemplative, ethereal, sharply perceptive, this collection is a fascinating exploration of the inner worlds that separate and connect us all
—— Mary Fitzgerald , New StatesmanMalouf, always so precise in his characterisation, so poetic in his evocations of nature and so haunting in his insight into loneliness and frustrated love, is a writer to treasure
—— Francis Quinn , Literary ReviewAt times unsettling in the intensity of their vision, Malouf's stories provide a deeply intelligent meditation on the unknowability of the self
—— Anna Scott , ObserverColours and landscapes are evoked in language that, at once lush and direct, is in itself a pleasure and a reminder that Malouf is also a poet of considerable talent
—— Aamer Hussein , IndependentHis writing here has a fine descriptive delicacy and sensory exactness that act as guarantees of the stories' truth and the authenticity of the experiences they embody
—— Tom Deveson , Sunday TimesMalouf deals with both the vast and the seemingly unimportant... He does it with biting wit, elegance and a rare, uncluttered honesty
—— Chris Dolan , Saturday HeraldPoignant and wonderful story...concentrates, without effort, all Malouf's themes...it needs to be read
—— ProspectJulian Barnes reminds us what an exhilarating experience it can be to read a really good critic.
—— Jane Shilling , Sunday TelegraphA compulsive page-turner.
—— Tim Adams , ObserverBarnes’s passion for his writers is infectious.
—— Ion Trewin , Sunday ExpressBlissfully intelligent.
—— Roger Lewis , Financial TimesThe temptation to turn away is powerful, but the rewards for resisting it are considerable. These essays combine a scholarly breadth of knowledge with a powerful sense of the absurdities of the creative life.
—— Jane Shilling , Sunday TelegraphThrough the Window is a wonderful and very interesting collection of essays that rewards close, and also measured, reading.
—— Brendan Wright , Nudge