Past Imperfect (novel)

Last updated

Past Imperfect
Author Julian Fellowes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Genre Novel

Past Imperfect is a novel by Julian Fellowes, published in the UK in 2008. [1] The main character, Damian, is trying to find out if he has fathered a son who he can leave his vast fortune to when he imminently dies.

Reception

Kate Kellaway, writing for The Guardian , says "the book could not have been published at a less sympathetic moment" and that the book "is without moral reach and, more fatally still, lacks wit. Instead, there is lots of crude, misogynistic imagery." [2] In The Independent , Raffaella Barker proclaims: "This is a book for a hot winter beach, an escape from life as we know it. Fellowes does us a huge favour in chronicling the world of class-bound aristocrats and their arcane snobbery." [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kazuo Ishiguro</span> British writer and Nobel Laureate (b. 1954)

Sir Kazuo Ishiguro is a Japanese-born British novelist, screenwriter, musician, and short-story writer. He is one of the most critically-acclaimed and praised contemporary fiction authors writing in English, having been awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature. In its citation, the Swedish Academy described Ishiguro as a writer "who, in novels of great emotional force, has uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Amis</span> English novelist (1949–2023)

Martin Louis Amis was an English novelist, essayist, memoirist, and screenwriter. He is best known for his novels Money (1984) and London Fields (1989). He received the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his memoir Experience and was twice listed for the Booker Prize. Amis served as Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Manchester's Centre for New Writing from 2007 until 2011. In 2008, The Times named him one of the fifty greatest British writers since 1945.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian Barnes</span> English writer (born 1946)

Julian Patrick Barnes is an English writer. He won the Man Booker Prize in 2011 with The Sense of an Ending, having been shortlisted three times previously with Flaubert's Parrot, England, England, and Arthur & George. Barnes has also written crime fiction under the pseudonym Dan Kavanagh. In addition to novels, Barnes has published collections of essays and short stories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alain de Botton</span> British philosopher and author

Alain de Botton is a Swiss-born British author and philosopher. His books discuss various contemporary subjects and themes, emphasizing philosophy's relevance to everyday life. He published Essays in Love (1993), which went on to sell two million copies. Other bestsellers include How Proust Can Change Your Life (1997), Status Anxiety (2004) and The Architecture of Happiness (2006).

<i>The Modern Antiquarian</i> Book by Julian Cope

The Modern Antiquarian: A Pre-Millennial Odyssey Through Megalithic Britain is a guide book written by Julian Cope, published in 1998. It is written as a travelogue of British megalithic sites, including Stonehenge and Avebury. Types of artifacts catalogued include stone circles, hillforts and barrows.

Adam Thirlwell is a British novelist. His work has been translated into thirty languages. He has twice been named as one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists. In 2015 he received the E.M. Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is the London editor of The Paris Review.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian Fellowes</span> English actor, writer, producer and politician

Julian Alexander Kitchener-Fellowes, Baron Fellowes of West Stafford,, known professionally as Julian Fellowes, is an English actor, novelist, film director, screenwriter, and Conservative peer of the House of Lords. He is primarily known as the author of several Sunday Times bestseller novels; for the screenplay for the film Gosford Park, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2002; and as the creator, writer and executive producer of the multiple award-winning ITV series Downton Abbey (2010–2015).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew O'Hagan</span> Scottish author (born 1968)

Andrew O'Hagan is a Scottish novelist and non-fiction author. Three of his novels have been nominated for the Booker Prize and he has won several awards, including the Los Angeles Times Book Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ali Smith</span> Scottish author and journalist

Ali Smith CBE FRSL is a Scottish author, playwright, academic and journalist. Sebastian Barry described her in 2016 as "Scotland's Nobel laureate-in-waiting".

Henry Hitchings is an author, reviewer and critic, specializing in narrative non-fiction, with a particular emphasis on language and cultural history. The second of his books, The Secret Life of Words: How English Became English, won the 2008 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and a Somerset Maugham Award. He has written two books about Samuel Johnson and has served as the president of the Johnson Society of Lichfield. As a critic, he has mainly written about books and theatre. As of 2018, he is chair of the drama section of the UK's Critics' Circle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WikiLeaks</span> News leak publishing organisation

WikiLeaks is a publisher and media organisation founded in 2006. It operates as a non-proft and is funded by donations and media partnerships. It has published classified documents and other media provided by anonymous sources. It was founded by Julian Assange, an Australian editor, publisher, and activist, who is currently challenging extradition to the United States over his work with WikiLeaks. Since September 2018, Kristinn Hrafnsson has served as its editor-in-chief. Its website states that it has released more than ten million documents and associated analyses. WikiLeaks' most recent publication was in 2021 and its most recent publication of original documents was in 2019. Beginning in November 2022, many of the documents could not be accessed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derek Landy</span> Irish author and screenwriter

Derek Landy is an Irish author and screenwriter, best known for the Skulduggery Pleasant and Demon Road book series. Since 2018, he has also written numerous comic book series at Marvel Comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian Baggini</span> Philosopher, author and journalist

Julian Baggini is a philosopher, journalist and the author of over 20 books about philosophy written for a general audience. He is co-founder of The Philosophers' Magazine and has written for numerous international newspapers and magazines. In addition to writing on the subject of philosophy he has also written books on atheism, secularism and the nature of national identity. He is a patron of Humanists UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Ness</span> American-British author, journalist, lecturer, and screenwriter

Patrick Ness is an American-British author, journalist, lecturer, and screenwriter. Born in the United States, Ness moved to London and holds dual citizenship. He is best known for his books for young adults, including the Chaos Walking trilogy and A Monster Calls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Foulds</span> British novelist and poet

Adam Samuel James Foulds FRSL is a British novelist and poet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian Assange</span> Australian editor, publisher, and activist (born 1971)

Julian Paul Assange is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist. In 2006, he founded the non-profit media organisation WikiLeaks, which published leaked documents that had an impact on political news. Wikileaks came to wide international attention in 2010 when, in partnership with five newspapers, it published a series of documents and other media provided by U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.

<i>WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assanges War on Secrecy</i> Book by David Leigh and Luke Harding

WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange's War on Secrecy is a 2011 book by British journalists David Leigh and Luke Harding. It is an account of Julian Assange, WikiLeaks, and the leak by Chelsea Manning of classified material to the website in 2010. It was published by Guardian Books in February 2011.

<i>Wonder</i> (Palacio novel) R.J. Palacio novel

Wonder is a children's novel written by R. J. Palacio, published on 14 February 2012. Wonder was inspired by an incident where her son started to cry after noticing a girl with a severe facial deformity. Fearing her son would react badly, Palacio attempted to remove him from the situation so as not to upset the girl and her family but ended up worsening the situation. Natalie Merchant's song of the same name made her realize that the incident could illustrate a valuable lesson. Palacio was inspired by Merchant's lyrics and she began writing. She named the book directly after the song and used the song's chorus as the prologue of the first chapter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linda Lawrence</span> Wife of folk‐rocker Donovan

Linda Anne Lawrence is the British wife, muse and sometimes collaborator of folk-rock star Donovan Leitch. Donovan wrote his US #1/UK #2 hit song "Sunshine Superman" for her as well as "Legend of a Girl Child Linda". And according to Donovan, "Linda's in all the songs. 'Sunshine Superman,' 'Hampstead Incident,' 'Young Girl Blues'... Linda's the muse."

Past Imperfect may refer to:

References

  1. "Julian Fellowes". Weidenfeld & Nicolson. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  2. "Class is in the eye of the beholder | Fiction". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  3. "Past Imperfect, By Julian Fellowes". The Independent. 16 November 2008. Retrieved 24 February 2023.