The first billy liar novel, about fifteen years ago, was made into an amusing tom courtenayjulie christie film and a british television series and waterhouse includes several fairly funny sight gags in this sequel. In 2009 waterhouse announced that at the age of 80 he was giving up his longstanding column in the. Keith waterhouse, who has died aged 80, always described himself as a lazy man, even though he produced a body of work that reduced his fleet. The main characters of this fiction, seduction story are. The action takes place over the course of a single day. An exlibrary book and may have standard library stamps andor stickers. This book by keith waterhouse features billy liar, for whom life is full of problems. See all books authored by keith waterhouse, including billy liar, and the book of useless information, and more on. John schlesingers billy liar is based on the hit play by keith waterhouse and is now widely acknowledged as one of the seminal british new wave films made in the early 1960s. He started out as a reporter with the yorkshire evening post in 1949 and later wrote for punch, the daily mail, and the daily mirror.
Daily mirror i wished id written keith waterhouse s first novel. He was a writer, known for billy liar 1963, a kind of loving 1962 and whistle down the wind 1961. Waterhouse has an uncanny gift for recapturing every attitude, agony and phrase of childhood and youth. He has written extensively for film, tv and newspapers, and his play jeffrey barnard is unwell was a west end hit in the 1990s. Billy liar is a regional comedy about a youth who attempts to escape his dull family life through fantasy. Billy liar dramascripts classic texts more editions of billy liar dramascripts classic texts. The semicomical story is about william fisher, a workingclass 19yearold living with his parents in the fictional town of stradhoughton in yorkshire. He wrote extensively for film, tv and newspapers, and his play jeffrey barnard is unwell was a west end hit in the 1990s. This edition marks the novels first publication in america in more than fifty years and includes a new introduction by nick bentley and a reproduction of the original. The classic comedy of a 50s youth trapped inside a walter mitty fantasyworld, published as a penguin essential for the first time. Keith waterhouses comic masterpiece billy liar 1959 introduced us to billy fisher, a seventeenyearold undertakers clerk whose inability to tell the truth led him into constant and often hilarious trouble with his parents, his employer, and his three girlfriends. Keith waterhouses second novel received immediate acclaim, quickly matched by stage and screen adaptations.
A smash bestseller and one of the great comic novels of the 20th century, billy liar 1959 inspired an awardwinning film, a play, a musical, a television series, and a sequel. Keith waterhouse s billy liar a novel, a play and a film. Nearing middle age, billy lives with his childless wife jeanette and his mother in a drab complex and works as a flack for the drab town of shepford. Daily mirror i wished id written keith waterhouses first novel. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. Billy liar play book also available for read online, mobi, docx and mobile and kindle reading. Billy liar kindle edition by waterhouse, keith, bentley. Billy fisher is a young man of 19 living in the yorkshire town of stradhoughton. Keith waterhouse was born in 1929 in leeds, and was a novelist, columnist, playwright and screenwriter.
Billy, a young man with a dreary life, spends most of his time daydreaming about a land where he is a hero. A number of minor indiscretions causes billy to lie in order to avoid the penalties. As these events start catching up with him, he finds himself telling bigger lies to cover his tracks. Perhaps that is because keith waterhouse does not make a strong case for billy s habitual fabrication being causally related to his socioeconomic environment. Keith waterhouse was born on february 6, 1929 in hunslet, leeds, yorkshire, england as keith spencer waterhouse. Billy liar is a 1959 novel by keith waterhouse, which was later adapted into a play, a film, a musical and a tv series. Billy liar by keith waterhouse has proved to be an influential book and has been adapted into a play, a musical, a film and a tv series. I wrote a little bit about him in this post, specifically about his collection of newspaper columns monday, thursday. Keith waterhouse books list of books by author keith. Billy liar is his most famous book, and was an equally famous film, directed by. The book billy liar is a darker comedy than i expectedpoised between kitchensink realism of saturday night and sunday morning and the blast of fresh air that was the beatles. Billy liar ebook by keith waterhouse 1230000156883.
Keith waterhouses billy liar was published in 1959, and captures brilliantly the claustrophobic atmosphere of a small town. British writer keith waterhouse, whose best known novel billy liar shone a light on life in a drab postwar england, died friday at his london home, his family said. Keith waterhouse was an unlikely literary hero of my youth. Keith waterhouse was another yorkshireman and his billy liar, the novel by which he is probably best remembered, is in some ways typical of the kitchen sink school. Keith waterhouses most popular book is billy liar penguin essentials. Billy liar is his most famous book, and was an equally famous film, directed by john schlesinger, starring tom courtenay. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 187 pages and is available in mass market paperback format.
Waterhouse s novel tells the story of billy, an undertakers assistant, who dreams of a better life and lies to his family and friends to make himself seem more important than he is. Billy liar by keith waterhouse, first edition abebooks. Directed by john schlesinger, it stars tom courtenay who had understudied albert finney in the west end theatre adaptation of the novel as billy, and julie christie as. Billy liar by the 1293rd greatest fiction book of all time.
Suggestions for writing are included which give pupils an opportunity to respond to what they have read through imaginative writing, dramatic reconstructions as well as the traditional critical essay. Books go search best sellers gift ideas new releases deals store. Buy a cheap copy of billy liar book by keith waterhouse. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
Stream and download audiobooks to your computer, tablet or mobile phone. The publication of billy liar 50 years ago this month was a groundbreaking event. Download billy liar play in pdf and epub formats for free. Keith waterhouse waterhouse, keith used books, rare books and new books. Billy liar by keith waterhouse goodreads share book.
Free download or read online billy liar pdf epub book. Listen to billy liar audiobook by keith waterhouse. Pdf billy liar book by keith waterhouse free download. Therefore, billy s problems with the truth and reality end up diverting some of the readers. Download pdf billy liar play free online new books in. The first edition of the novel was published in 1959, and was written by keith waterhouse. It tells the story of billy fisher, a yorkshire teenager unable to stop lying especially to his three girlfriends.
Keith waterhouse has 62 books on goodreads with 7429 ratings. Billy liar is a 1963 british blackandwhite cinemascope comedydrama film based on the 1959 novel by keith waterhouse. Keith waterhouse s most popular book is billy liar penguin essentials. Billy liar is the chronicle of one decisive day in the life of its protagonist billy fisher. The work has inspired and featured in a number of popular songs. Keith waterhouses early novel proved to be his best, featuring regional speech, workingclass characters. Find and compare hundreds of millions of new books, used books, rare books and out of print books. Keith waterhouse with a new introduction by nick bentley book description billy fisher feels trapped by his workingclass parents, his unfulfilling job as an undertakers clerk, and his life in a dull, provincial town. Perhaps that is because keith waterhouse does not make a strong case. Fifty years on, billy liar has not grown old books the.