Gentlemen and Players: A Novel (P.S.) [Bargain Price] [Paperback]

Joanne Harris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 26, 2006 | Series: P.S.

For generations, privileged young men have attended St. Oswald's Grammar School for Boys, groomed for success by the likes of Roy Straitley, the eccentric Classics teacher who has been a fixture there for more than thirty years. This year, however, the wind of unwelcome change is blowing, and Straitley is finally, reluctantly, contemplating retirement. As the new term gets under way, a number of incidents befall students and faculty alike, beginning as small annoyances but soon escalating in both number and consequence. St. Oswald's is unraveling, and only Straitley stands in the way of its ruin. But he faces a formidable opponent with a bitter grudge and a master strategy that has been meticulously planned to the final, deadly move.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. At the heart of Harris's riveting new book is a major secret, and veteran British stage actor Pacey does everything in his power not to give away even the slightest hint of it to audio listeners. Pacey plays both sides of the story's central chess match for the soul of a posh British boy's school with equal energy and wit, bringing to life the sad and troubled outsider Snyde, who wants so badly to be a student at St. Oswald's, and the deeply embedded classics master Roy Straitley, who cares for the school's future more than he will admit. As the two duel on the chessboard of life for St. Oswald's reputation, Pacey growls and whimpers with so much vitality that it's hard to take sides. Even when the two change into something else—when Snyde turns into a frightening killer and Straitley's inertia and antiestablishment leanings threaten to overwhelm him— we always know who is speaking, and why. Minor characters are also vividly drawn: rival masters reek with chalk and bad habits, a boy Snyde loves becomes a natural betrayer, and parents are always credible if not admirable figures. This is verbal magic of the highest order, the kind every author deserves but doesn't always get.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School–Three voices are heard in this tale of a venerable English boys' school. One belongs to Roy Straitley, a veteran teacher of classics. Another is that of a teacher who has just arrived at St. Oswald's with the malicious intent of bringing it down through well-placed rumor and cunning innuendo. The third is that of a child from 14 years earlier who loves the school but does not belong to it. He even assumes an alter identity, Julian Pinchbeck, complete with uniform, in order to roam the school at will and as much as possible escape the painful reality of life with his loutish father, its porter. Then he makes a friend at St. Oswald's and at last has someone from his chosen world with whom to spend his time. But everything unravels with the death of Julian's adored friend. Now the teacher who was the child Julian returns. Harris shows what a master storyteller she is through the play and counterplay of current happenings twisting through the telling of what went on before. The story builds suspensefully and cleverly with surprises and turns to a satisfying denouement.–Judy Braham, George Mason Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (December 26, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060559152
• ASIN: B0017ODVQI
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (97 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #392,857 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joanne Harris is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Blackberry Wine and Chocolat, which was nominated for the Whitbread Award, one of Britain's most prestigious literary prizes. Half French and half British, Harris lives in England.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars engaging fiction!, January 12, 2006

By 

David W. Straight (knoxville, tennessee United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gentlemen and Players: A Novel (Hardcover)

First of all, for the cricket-ignorant, up until WW II in

English first-class cricket, the people who played the game

were classified as "gentlemen"--those who played the game

without pay--and "players"--the paid professionals. In the

box-score, a gentleman would appear as Mr Smith, and a

professional would appear as Jones. Separate dessing-rooms

were provided for the two groups. There was an annual match

Gentlemen vs Players. It was very rare that a team captain

would be a player: there was a significant gulf between the

leisure class and the working class.

The novel is about the child of the working-class man who did

the janitorial chores at St Oswald's School, an expensive

day school for sons of privilege. The child, now grown up,

forges documents to join the school as a new faculty member,

with the intention of destroying the institution from within.

So small unpleasant things begin to happen--and things get

worse with thefts and scandals. It's a game--but only the

player knows it--the gentlemen (which includes female faculty)

are puzzled and disconcerted. The other central figure is Roy

Straitley, classics master, now in his 34th year at St Oswald's.

Straitley is Old School, computer-ignorant, but shrewd enough

to finally realize that there is a game going on. The gentlemen

are accustomed to interacting with gentlemen (faculty and

students) at the school--they are at a great disadvantage

against a working-class person who doesn't play by the rules.

The sense of dichotomy is wonderfully drawn here--those of

privilege, and those who are not. There are fine lines of

snobbery. Gentlemen & Players has similar layers--depths and

nuances. An excellent read!

43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Deadly Game of Chess, February 5, 2007

By 

Tom S. "filmfan3" (New York City) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gentlemen and Players: A Novel (P.S.) (Paperback)

This clever novel has just been nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe award by the Mystery Writers of America, and it's easy to see why. St. Oswald's, an exclusive British boy's school, is the scene of a deadly contest between a dedicated old "Mr. Chips"-type teacher and a mysterious newcomer to the faculty. Each opponent tells the story in alternating chapters, and it soon becomes clear that the evil interloper has a beef with the place dating back to childhood. This new teacher is secretly waging an insidious campaign of terror against St. Oswald's, the clear intent being to bring the famous school down and close its doors forever. And only our hero--a fussy, eccentric, out-of-shape old-timer--can stop the tragedy, if he can find his anonymous adversary in time....

Harris (CHOCOLAT, FIVE QUARTERS OF THE ORANGE) hits the ground running with her first suspense novel, and it's as funny as it is bizarre, a truly black comedy. A former teacher in a Brit boys' school, Harris knows the institutions and their people very well. She has a marvelous way of describing everything, and her names for the characters are particularly Dickensian. The heroic teacher is named Straitley, the villain is named Snyde, and other teachers and students are appropriately named Meek, Strange, Knight, Bishop, Devine, Fallow, Brasenose, Shakeshafte, etc. She makes you feel that you're actually there, in the school, witnessing the "game." Highly recommended.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two competing narrators and a very well-concealed twist, January 24, 2007

By 

Andy Orrock (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Gentlemen and Players: A Novel (P.S.) (Paperback)

I'm reviewing the P.S. version of 'Gentlemen and Players' because it contains an insightful five-page 'On My Mind' piece by the Joanne Harris. Harris discusses her history as a teacher - 12 years teaching at a Boys' Grammar School in the UK. As the intro to that piece states, her teaching experience was "put to good use in the deeply atmospheric 'Gentlemen and Players.'"

Indeed.

I also have to make mention of the compelling cover of the P.S. release, design courtesy of Robin Bilardello. It makes this work fairly leap off the shelves and into your hands. It's what encouraged me to flip through the book in the store.

The book itself holds up well. The style taken on here by Ms. Harris - two competing narrators and a very well-concealed twist - is not one taken easily by an unskilled writer. She pulls it off very well. Harris is best known as the author of 'Chocolat' (basis of the movie of the same name). Reviews elsewhere call that her best work, while others put votes in for 'Five Quarters of the Orange.' 'Gentlemen and Players' was my introduction to her work. I came out very impressed and definitely a new fan of her work.