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Reginald Perrin Omnibus
Reginald Perrin Omnibus
Jan 17, 2026 2:06 PM

Author:David Nobbs

Reginald Perrin Omnibus

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Aclassic collection of the hilarious Reginald Perrin books: The Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin, The Return of Reginald Perrin and The Better World of Reginald Perrin, immortalised in two BBC TV series, now being repeated on BBC Four.

Reginald Iolanthe Perrin is surely one of the best loved comedy heroes of our time, in both literature and television. This omnibus brings together the first three Reginald Perrin novels containing a lifetime's outrageous and hilarious adventures.

When we first meet Reggie, he is sick to death with selling exotic ice creams at Sunshine Desserts. Driven to desperation by the rat race and the unpunctuality of Britain's trains, Reggie's small eccentricities escalate to the extreme, until finally he leaves the unacceptable face of capitalism behind by driving off in a stolen motorised jelly. In his pursuit of the unconventional, he devotes himself to faking his own death, opening a shop devoted to selling completely useless goods, and setting up a commune strictly for the middle-class and middle-aged.

Join Reggie, who didn't get where he is today without some help from some memorable supporting characters, in one man's quest to avoid an everyday existence.

Reviews

Evocative, captivating and acutely observed

—— Patricia Nicol , Sunday Times

Clever... entertaining... elegant

—— Rose Wild , The Times

It’s surprising there haven’t been more novels drawing on London’s fascination with Russian oligarchs. But how to write about them without it all seeming a bit Jackie Collins? Vesna Goldsworthy has hit on the perfect solution with her witty novel Gorsky

—— Viv Groskop , Spectator

This is the most enjoyable fiction I’ve come across this year. Gorsky is engaging and, best of all…manages to cast London in a new and softer light. I defy anyone who revelled in Fitzgerald’s original not to have fun with Goldsworthy’s attempt to transpose arguably the greatest American novel back to the old world

—— Peter Carty , Financial Times

Written with such narrative elegance that you’re led irresistibly on, as with some exquisite dish, from one perfect melting mouthful to the next

—— Michael Frayn

Entertaining and poignant, ironic and serious, Gorsky is both a literary homage and the work of a highly original imagination. Goldsworthy is brilliant on money, clothes. romantic love and decadent sex -- and on various kinds of immigrant species. A jeu d'esprit with a heart and mind.

—— Eva Hoffman

Here, at last, is the ‘Gatsby’ for today’s London – the holy city of the Russian super-rich. In a marvellously written, wickedly imagined novel, sometimes hauntingly sad and sometimes very funny, Vesna Goldsworthy evokes the loneliness which goes with sudden and gigantic wealth, as it falls upon men and women with no previous background of privilege. ‘Gorsky’ provides a crowded satire on the mob of hangers-on who follow the billionaires, and a clear-eyed panorama of Kensington and Chelsea as new money floods over old dignity.

—— Neal Ascherson

The spell-binding story of a Russian billionaire setting up home in London's 'Chelski'. With wit and poetic verve, Vesna Goldsworthy explores our fascination with money, glamour, parties and sex and, ultimately, offers a haunting elegy to love

—— Sofka Zinovieff

There’s no mistaking F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby as the inspiration behind Vesna Goldsworthy’s glittering, glamorous novel

—— Eithne Farry , Sunday Express, S Magazine

It’s a clever, telling story asking questions about love, power, beauty and books. Where better to find love than among the shelves of a dusty bookshop?

—— Patrick Neale , Bookseller

Her sharp observation of London’s super-rich...is an unexpected and elegant bonus in this retelling of a classic story

—— The Times

Its charm lies in its literary and historical adornments

—— John Owen , Country & Town House

I was swept up in the characters and the setting of this brilliant book and hope that it will become a classic

—— Charlotte Courthold , Mature Times

It’s a great story by any measure

—— Kathy Watson , Tablet

An eternal, melancholy story which never fails to tug at the heartstrings

—— Maxim Jakubowski , Lovereading

Goldsworthy’s mischievous debut updates that constant trope about gaining the world and losing your soul in a contemporary London setting that is two parts Bulgakov to one part Richard Curtis’s Notting Hill

—— Michael Conaghan , Belfast Telegraph Morning

An energetic return to form pitting reason against religious zeal

—— Justine Jordan , Guardian

Magic realism squared […] the most madcap fun you’re likely to have in a book this year.

—— Olaf Tyaransen , Hot Press

I love, love, love the Rushdie – I think it’s my favourite of his… The fantasy elements are just magical and, of course, it’s gorgeously written.

—— Marianne Faithfull , Observer

An apocalyptic battle between reason and unreason, good and evil, light and darkness, with all the bells and whistles of a Hollywood blockbuster.

—— Carlos Fraenkel , London Review of Books

Not only a beautifully written satire-as-fairytale but the subject matter is bang on trend… That Rushdie should still be writing so potently and still be continuing to push back the frontiers, when he could easily pull up a deck chair and languish on the frontiers he already owns is wonderful, inspirational and profoundly (but only in the best way) terrifying… 10/10, Master.

—— Starburst Magazine

Ambitious, smart and dark fable that is full of rich and profound notions about human nature.

—— Katherine McLaughlin , SciFi Now

The Gap of Time takes nothing away from The Winter's Tale. If anything it might add to it, or at least to its resonance and mystery. It is an impressive achievement, especially as Winterson manages the contradictions of comedy and tragedy in a way which suits both their modern likelihood and their moral implications

—— Mary Leland , Irish Examiner

A witty retelling.

—— Joanna Kavenna , Literary Review

Her new story retains the essence of Shakespeare, but filters his comedy and sentiment through feminism and technology.

—— The Culture Trip

Filled with her wit and seriously thought-provoking ideas, Winterson’s writing is a pleasure… This is a well told, beautiful, magical and wonderfully evocative story which resonates with our contemporary lives.

—— Eric Page , Gscene

Vibrates with echoes of Shakespeare’s original.

—— I

Ambitious.

—— Sunday Times

There is a lovely, lilting cadence to the novel… Stylishly done…. Winterson manages against the odds to keep us gripped.

—— Sarah Crown , Guardian

Winterson is on sparkling form in this highly intelligent and daringly imaginative reworking of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale... Witty, clever and bold.

—— Mail on Sunday

Winterson is incapable of being dull, and The Gap Of Time is a fitting addition to her uniquely inventive catalogue.

—— Ellis O'Harrison , Irish Independent

She deftly captures all the magic and raw emotion of the original.

—— Irish Times
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