- Spiral-bound
- Publisher: Phoenix (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd ); Paperback edition (2005)
- ASIN: B003UM1N3S
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
Snobs: A Novel
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First Sentence
I do not know exactly how Edith Lavery came first to be taken up by Isabel Easton. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
I do not know exactly how Edith Lavery came first to be taken up by Isabel Easton. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is set in an upper class milieu with which I am not familiar - and to be fair, wouldn't want to be. The author is not exactly a revolutionary! He sends the upper class characters up, but does so with affection. Something I particularly liked was the long passages of explanation interpolated into the dialogue. There is a first person narrator reminiscent of the narrator of A Dance to the Music of Time. That is fine, but the author also describes the heroine's sexual experiences with another character, which the narrator cannot possibly have witnessed. This jarred on me a bit. However, I am not saying that the descriptions were bad in themselves. In fact, they convey everything we need to know in relation to the personalities of those involved and the relationship between them, without being pornographic in any way. This is basically a comic novel, but the plot moves at a reasonable pace despite the long (and enjoyable) explanations, and the ending is a satisfying one. I would not say that this is a profound book, but it contains some intelligent observations on life. An enjoyable read, provided you are not left wing and like social comedy.
29 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This not-quite-debut novel (Fellowes wrote several romance novels in the mid-'70s under the name Rebecca Greville, including "Poison Presented" and "Court in the Terror") ought to appeal to fans of his 2001 Oscar-winning script for the film Gosford Park. A straightforward satirical comedy of manners set among the upper classes of mid-'90s England and those who aspire to join them, the book is a frothy comic brew which skewers both parties with the kind of pitch-perfect subtle writing that it seems only the British can pull off. The story is quite simple, a pretty woman from an upper middle-class family whose mother has pretentions decides to ensnare a hugely wealthy and dull aristocratic man in order to "marry up" into the upper classes which still hold such a mystique and importance in British society. The man's mother, a formidable Marchioness aims to prevent this from occurring but fails. The young woman discovers that life at the top isn't as exciting as she anticipated and runs off with an handsome actor to great scandal. Will anyone find happiness at the end?
This is all more or less narrated by a semi-aristocratic actor (clearly very much like the author) who is able to move between all worlds due to his upbringing and career. He starts the book as a friend of the young woman and a very passing acquaintance of the young man, and ends up becoming a bridge between worlds and at the latter stages, a kind of discreet go-between. It is his penetrating sardonic insights and the witty formulations thereof which lend what substance there is to this otherwise straightforward love story. Much of the novel involves the narrator spelling out the unspoken rules of the game for the reader in deliciously mocking detail. The main flaw in most satire is that it is too broad or unsubtle, but here the narrator's mockery of the artificially preserved world of the aristocracy is all the more effective from its insider position. To be sure, the characters are mostly "types" without a whole lot of substance or depth to them (the boorish rich pig, the nasty arriviste, the brisk no-nonsense wife, the ice queen, the social climber, etc.), but that's kind of the point as well. A great deal of the satire is that these upper crust people have no personality, that they are all just filling the roles they've seen before them and imagine will extend after them forever. Ultimately, the book is somewhat bittersweet in that the writing is quite amusing, but one can't help but feel slightly sorry for how unhappy so many of the characters are (even if they aren't particularly deeply drawn). On the other hand, it's not too hard to feel like it's a case of them getting their just desserts...
This is all more or less narrated by a semi-aristocratic actor (clearly very much like the author) who is able to move between all worlds due to his upbringing and career. He starts the book as a friend of the young woman and a very passing acquaintance of the young man, and ends up becoming a bridge between worlds and at the latter stages, a kind of discreet go-between. It is his penetrating sardonic insights and the witty formulations thereof which lend what substance there is to this otherwise straightforward love story. Much of the novel involves the narrator spelling out the unspoken rules of the game for the reader in deliciously mocking detail. The main flaw in most satire is that it is too broad or unsubtle, but here the narrator's mockery of the artificially preserved world of the aristocracy is all the more effective from its insider position. To be sure, the characters are mostly "types" without a whole lot of substance or depth to them (the boorish rich pig, the nasty arriviste, the brisk no-nonsense wife, the ice queen, the social climber, etc.), but that's kind of the point as well. A great deal of the satire is that these upper crust people have no personality, that they are all just filling the roles they've seen before them and imagine will extend after them forever. Ultimately, the book is somewhat bittersweet in that the writing is quite amusing, but one can't help but feel slightly sorry for how unhappy so many of the characters are (even if they aren't particularly deeply drawn). On the other hand, it's not too hard to feel like it's a case of them getting their just desserts...
25 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Although they might intermingle within the pages of Hello! the aristocrat and the A'list celebrity live in different worlds. However, Julian Fellowes has a foot in both worlds and, like many before him, his first novel is set within an environment he is familiar with. The plot is a sort of 'menages trois' (Julian's characters have a fondness for lapsing into French) but like Gosford Park the plot isn't that riveting, where Julian excels is in social anthropology. If you believed, like John Major, that we were on the brink of a classless society then let Julian reveal the truth to you as he explains little oddities such as the upper classes usage of their nursery nicknames throughout their life. Peppered with insights and seasoned with scandal but not over done, a rare treat for escapist reading.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Disappointing
Anything by Julian Fellowes is worth a read but this novel was below expectations. I had just read his Past Imperfect, which is brilliant. I have recommended it to lots of people. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Krysia
Living vicariously
I loved Snobs although have to admit that I thought that Past Imperfect was better. I guess that the main reason is that both of these books give you an insight into a world that... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Reading4u
...one of the saddest mistakes a social climber can make is excessive...
I have come across snobbery in my life and found it devastating - but I was very young at the time and today I would know exactly how to deal with it. There is no excuse for it. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Eileen Shaw
Send In the Snobs!
I bought "Snobs" some time ago, having enjoyed Mr. Fellowes' script of "Gosford Park" and his delightfully wicked second novel, "Past Imperfect. Read more
Published 14 months ago by F. S. L'hoir
Roman a clef? So who are they then>
Enjoyed the novel. But if, as some reviewers suggest, it is a roman a clef then will someone unlock it for me please? Might Lady Uckfield have been modelled on D(?) (M). Or not? Read more
Published 16 months ago by M. Taylor
Like Wodehouse but without the razor sharp wit
Snobs is a meticulously detailed satire of upper class living. The English aristocrats that inhabit its pages are carefully, and sympathetically, drawn. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Copycreate
A good laugh at them all
This is a nicely funny book, poking fun not just at the upwardly aspiring bourgeoisie but also at the aristocrats themselves. Read more
Published 24 months ago by Peter Tompkins
A delicious insight into the upper classes
I like being taken somewhere in a book I wouldn't normally go and that's perhaps why I loved Snobs. It gave an intriguing insight into the upper classes. Read more
Published on 18 April 2010 by Anne Maxwell-stevenson
Illuminating
I was surprised by the number of sour comments made about this enjoyable book. It illuminated my knowledge of a particular section of society in a clever, humorous and witty... Read more
Published on 24 Feb 2010 by Rose
WHOSE SIDE IS HE ON?
My dictionary defines a snob as "a person who sets too much value on social standing, wishing to be associated with the upper class and their mores, and treating those viewed as... Read more
Published on 20 Feb 2010 by Barry McCanna
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