The Walpole Orange

by Frank Muir

William Grundwick has a problem. As secretary of the Walpole Club he's duty-bound to arrange whatever function the Events Committee decides is appropriate to celebrate the Club's 250th birthday. It's just that what they have decided upon seems to William almost wholly inappropriate; worse still he's not sure he knows precisely what form such a function should take. And if that isn't bad enough, the whole business is supposed to be a deep secret, so he can't even discuss it with his lovely young wife Milly. Milly has her own problems. Is she going off William? His secretiveness is certainly disturbing. And now the Baroque Trio she runs has lost its viola and continuo player - Catriona has decamped to Los Angeles with a session guitarist called Trev.Torn between the demands of the Events Committee, Milly, and an accountant in a diaphanous sari, spied on by a treacherous underporter with a hotline to the tabloids and pressurized by the chairperson of the Golden Horn Ladies Belly-Dancing Ensemble, Catford, the harrassed William has some appallingly difficult decisions to make.The Walpole Orange, astonishingly, is Frank Muir's first novel. As one might expect from Britain's leading humorist, it is highly imaginative, wickedly witty and utterly irresistible.

Genres: Fiction, Humor

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Frank Herbert Muir was an English comedy screenwriter and radio and television personality. From 1977 on he also wrote children's books based on his family dog, What-a-Mess. In 1997 he published his autobiography.

Reviews

[Jonathan Palfrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

On first reading, I enjoyed this amusing tale of what the Walpole Club decided to do for its 250th birthday: the polite young Club Secretary, William, is instructed to organize an orgy. But in order to confuse spies from the press, it’s to be referred to always as an orange.

The characters are well drawn and likeable, the plot is well constructed, the writing is fluent and amusing. Will the elderly gentlemen of the club get their orgy in the end? What, exactly, is an orgy? Read and find out.

It does have the air of a book written several decades earlier than 1993. Partly because it’s about an old-fashioned gentleman’s club and the sort of people who belong to it, and partly I suppose because Frank Muir was born in 1920. However, this is not really a criticism. If you pretend that it was really written in 1963, it seems quite fresh and lively, and it includes a number of youngish characters.

I give it only two stars because I haven’t felt the urge to reread it. This is not my usual kind of reading matter.

[Mojacar44 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely gentle humor. Made me laugh out loud.

[Camilla Singh · Rating 1 out of 5]

This rating has more to do me not liking farces rather than being a criticism of the book. Frank Muir writes well but I found the subject matter to be puerile and tedious. It took me ages to read, despite it not being a long book, because I just didn’t feel like going back to it. It was a book club choice, otherwise I would never have stuck with it.

[Bettie · Rating 2 out of 5]

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More smugly amusing than full on funny and Where the titular 'Orange' is pseudonymously...



... an ORGY!

2*

[Matt Larsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably one of the most pleasurable books I have ever read for gentle English humour, ease of reading and charm. I also have it as an audiobook read by Frank Muir himself, complete with bow tie I am sure, and this adds another level to the story and to the enjoyment of it.

I would recommend highly to anyone who likes a quiet chuckle from an excellent wordsmith.

[Cecily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Humorous novel set in a gentlemen's club in 1990s (or possibly 80s), but feels much more old fashioned than that. The plot, setting and, to a lesser extent, language are reminiscent of PG Wodehouse (though not as good).

[Graeme · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frank Muir was brilliantly funny on his "My Word" radio programe and this same humour comes across in his book about an English mens Club celebrating their 250yr history with an orgy (code named an Orange!)

[Angelique Jurd · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the funniest books I've ever read...

[Mama · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really funny. Didn't think I would like modern English humor. Frank Muir is great!

[Marnanel · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF. The writing sparkles but the plot didn't hold my attention. I might try again in a few years.

[Stevyn Colgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Witty and erudite as you'd expect from Muir. First novel I've ever read by him. I wasn't disappointed.