Reception
Upon publication in 1975 the Birmingham Daily Post reviewed the collection positively, praising Cooper's "lyrical spontaneity" and "souffle touch, rare among British humourists, who tend to equate humour with mock-pedantry". [1] Topics singled out in the review included suburban snobbery, middle-class sex and graves. [1] The Daily Telegraph praised Cooper's "limitless comic invention". [3] In contrast, Clive James, reviewing for The Observer stated that the book was "precisely what you might expect", yet compared it to The Goodies Book of Criminal Records. [4] In 1976 the Sydney Morning Herald took a positive view of the work, describing the collection as a "cheering, sometimes moving, immensely witty little book". [5] The reviewer, Joan Flanagan, praised Cooper's writing on measles, Princess Anne's wedding and the British royal family more generally. [5]
Republished in 1981, the Manchester Evening News described the book as "highly entertaining". [6] This was echoed by the Daily Post who described how Cooper's brand of humour could attack every subject, but rarely cause actual harm. [7] The reviewer, Don Sutton, singled out her articles on the Trades Union Congress and Amsterdam's red-light district as highlights in the collection. [7]
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