Diary of a Nobody

The Diary of a Nobody by brothers George Grossmith and Weedon Grossmith is a classic British humorous novel that chronicles the life and misadventures of Charles Pooter, a lower-middle-class clerk with social aspirations that often lead to comic misfortunes. First published in serial form from 1888 to 1889 in Punch magazine, the novel is a satirical look at middle-class pretensions and frustrations in late Victorian England, presented through Pooter’s diary entries. The entries are filled with his trivial domestic and social incidents, showcasing the authors’ sharp wit and keen observation of human behavior. The book appeared as a single volume in 1892 with illustrations by Weedon Grossmith and additional text. It has been adapted for both stage and film.

This study guide uses the Project Gutenberg e-book version of the book.

Plot Summary

Charles Pooter, a clerk in London’s financial district, declares his interest in writing a diary. He believes it will be interesting even though he isn’t a “Somebody.” The diary begins as Pooter states that he and his wife, Carrie, have recently moved to a new rented home in London with their servant, Sarah. His old friend, Gowing, and neighbor, Cummings, often drop by, and he is proud that his son Willie is getting along in his job at a bank. Pooter describes visits from various tradesmen, with whom he is usually at odds, and from Gowing and Cummings. Cummings, the local curate, and the butcher all fall over or hurt themselves on the paint scraper, so Pooter hires the ironmonger, Farmerson, to move it.

Pooter is anxious to stay in the good graces of his employer, Mr. Perkupp, and disparages the young clerks at the office who are never on time. One clerk, Pitt, is particularly disrespectful to him. When Pooter argues with the grocer’s boy and is subsequently late to work, Pitt makes a rude comment, and the other clerks laugh at Pooter.

He has no better luck with his friends, Cummings and Gowing, who take a walk with Pooter and a friend and lie about where they are from to gain early entry into a pub. Pooter is too honest to lie and fumes outside the pub until the others are done. Cummings subsequently criticizes Pooter’s behavior in a letter, to which Pooter sends a carefully worded reply. Mollified, Cummings offers Pooter a deal on expensive whiskey his cousin sells. Pooter declines, only to have Sarah appear with a bottle of cheap whiskey that Pooter has just ordered.

Cummings’s cousin, Merton, gets Pooter to buy the whiskey after all and offers to get Pooter theater passes. However, after the Pooters have taken an old friend of Carrie’s, Mrs. James, and her husband to the theater, the tickets are no good and Mr. James must purchase new ones. To relieve his feelings, Pooter buys red paint and uses it to paint everything from the flowerpots to the bathtub. When he fills the tub with hot water, it turns the water and his skin blood red.

The Pooters are surprised to receive an invitation to meet representatives of trade and commerce at the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress’ mansion. At the Mayor’s mansion, Pooter sees Farmerson. When he expresses his surprise, Farmerson says, “If you, why not me?” (37-38). Carrie criticizes him the next day for being friendly with Farmerson and drinking too much champagne. A newspaper omits their name from an account of the ball, and Pooter writes them two letters, leading to two printed corrections—each of which misspells their name.

As the couple prepares for their annual seaside holiday, their son, Willie, moves back into the house and announces that he now goes by his middle name, Lupin. Lupin tries to hide that he has been fired from his bank job, but the truth eventually comes out. As Pooter expresses his ambition to get Lupin a job with Mr. Perkupp’s firm, the three family members go on holiday to Broadstairs. While visiting a nearby resort, they find Gowing and Mr. and Mrs. Cummings. Gowing misbehaves in several ways: asking Lupin why he isn’t at work, playing an expensive game of billiards with Lupin, and suggesting a silly parlor game that ends with the guests on the floor.

Back in London, a mystery surrounds the disappearance of six weeks of Pooter’s diary entries; nobody will admit to tearing out the pages, though the charwoman, chimney sweep, and Sarah are all suspects. Lupin finds a new job at a stockbroker firm and announces that he has joined an amateur dramatic club, the Holloway Comedians, and is engaged to a woman named Daisy Mutlar.

Lupin befriends Daisy’s brother, Frank, another drama club member. He visits the Pooters and does comic imitations late into the night. Daisy is overweight and about eight years older than Lupin. Carrie’s party to celebrate the engagement is a mixed success. The young people enjoy themselves, but when Mr. Perkupp arrives, nothing is left for him to eat or drink.

Lupin reveals that he has broken off his engagement to Daisy. Gowing, Cummings, Lupin, and one of his drama club friends, Mr. Burwin-Fosselton, drop by one night and stay for supper. The friend monopolizes the conversation and bores everyone, imitating stage actor Henry Irving. He returns the next two nights and does the same imitation. Finally, Pooter tells him he and Carrie will be out the next night, which leads to a rude exchange of letters with Burwin-Fosselton about the superiority of acting as a vocation over work in the City.

Pooter is distressed that Carrie and Lupin, still living with them, take no interest in his diary. They laugh when he says they might find it interesting or even make money from selling it one day. Christmas is coming; Pooter and Carrie spend it pleasantly at Carrie’s mother’s home in the country, but Lupin spends it with the Mutlars after announcing that the engagement with Daisy is back on.

Lupin brings Daisy to dinner with Gowing and Cummings, which devolves into a food fight with balled-up pieces of bread. Lupin has been complaining about how cheap Daisy’s father is, and he is banished from the Mutlar household.

In the new year, Pooter receives a promotion and raise. Lupin has been investing in the stock market; he gives Pooter a tip that results in a loss of money. Gowing invites Cummings and the Pooters to dinner but is out of town when they arrive. Daisy’s brother, Frank, drops by with a friend named Morray Posh, whose family sells three-shilling hats. Lupin’s company goes under, and his boss disappears. To make matters worse, he receives a letter that Daisy is now engaged to Murray Posh.

To Pooter’s joy, Mr. Perkupp offers Lupin a job at the firm. Gowing invites the Pooters to a ball, where Pooter discovers that he must pay for the lavish food and drink he has consumed too late. He cannot even pay for his cab afterward, and the Pooters must walk home in the rain. Invited to visit an old schoolfellow of Pooter’s, Teddy Finsworth, Pooter finds the Finsworth dog licking his boots’ blacking. They next dine at the home of Pooter’s friend Franching to meet American journalist Hardfur Huttle. Huttle dominates the dinner conversation and subtly insults the guests, including Pooter.

Lupin suggests that one of Mr. Perkupp’s clients, Mr. Crowbillon, try another firm instead and is fired. Crowbillon, however, sends Lupin a commission and then hires him at an extravagant salary. The Pooters dine with Mr. and Mrs. James, whose son kicks Pooter in the shins and slaps Carrie in the face. When Pooter tells Carrie he doesn’t care for Mrs. James, she replies that she puts up with his friends—the vulgar Gowing and the boring Cummings—and says that at least Mrs. James is intelligent. Pooter allows Mrs. James to visit and conduct séances with Carrie and becomes interested in the phenomenon. However, the séances end after the spirit they are supposedly summoning answers a question with a nonsensical reply.

Lupin moves to a new apartment and spends much time with the newly married Murray and Daisy Posh. He holds a dinner for his parents, the Poshes, and Murray’s sister, Lillie, whom Pooter finds irritating. Back at home near midnight, Pooter finds a cab waiting to take him to see Hardfur Huttle. Huttle surprises him by recommending a wealthy friend to Mr. Perkupp’s firm. When the man takes his business to the firm, Mr. Perkupp says he will buy Pooter’s house and present it to him as a thank you for his honesty and hard work. As Pooter celebrates with Carrie, Gowing, and Cummings, he receives a letter from Lupin saying he is now engaged to Lillie Posh.