The History of Mr Polly

Jan 11, 2026 6:41 PM

Author:John Sutherland,H G Wells,Simon James,John Sutherland,Simon James

Mr Polly is an ordinary middle-aged man who is tired of his wife's nagging and his dreary job as the owner of a regional gentleman's outfitters. Faced with the threat of bankruptcy, he concludes that the only way to escape his frustrating existence is by burning his shop to the ground, and killing himself. Unexpected events, however, conspire at the last moment to lead the bewildered Mr Polly to a bright new future - after he saves a life, fakes his death, and escapes to a life of heroism, hope and ultimate happiness.

Reviews

Marian Keyes' Sushi for Beginners is the blissfully funny, smart tale of three women who discover that the line between success and failure, happiness and sadness, sanity and madness is finer than they ever thought . . .

'Dammit,' she realized. 'I think I'm having a nervous breakdown.'

—— from the publisher's description

Classic Keyes. Constantly surprising, gloriously entertaining, and has a dark underbite that makes it irresistible

—— The Pool

Nails the joy and pain of the working world . . . a brilliantly written and fabulously well-observed romantic comedy

—— Independent

Should come with a health warning. It's totally addictive . . . a real page turner

—— Sunday Express

Chatty and warmhearted, Keyes's talent is to tell it how it is

—— Independent

Our funniest living novelist

—— Daily Telegraph

Reaches a transcendental realm of its own. I couldn't even read it at times, because I was crying and choking with laughter

—— Daily Express

Sharpe is the funniest novelist currently writing ... I sat curled up with laughter

—— Time Out

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