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Beiderbecke #1
The Beiderbecke Affair
Playwright Alan Plater's first and finest novel is a delightful comedy thriller. This book was adapted into a television drama by Yorkshire Television in the 1980s.
196 pages, Paperback
First published January 10, 1985
About the author
Alan Plater
31 books7 followersAlan Frederick Plater CBE was an English playwright, novelist, and tv scriptwriter.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 9, 2021
So many years after the TV series was aired, I was immersed in and smiling, then laughing, through this light-hearted crime/mystery caper.
From its northern setting: ‘on one such day, cold and grey with a hint of rain, a standard design for days in outer Leeds’ on the allotments and in the comprehensive school of ‘San Quentin High’, which ‘prepares young people for the great job-centre of life’, I found myself in a deftly evoked once-familiar world.
Great characterisation runs throughout, including Detective Sergeant Hobson… BA. ‘To his colleagues he was a lonely and solitary nut. To an objective outsider he might have seemed a bold crusader. The truth was somewhere in between: he was in the early stages of a PhD thesis.’
There is a quality and intelligence of writing here with observations both subtle and humorous. I found so much to enjoy in Alan Plater’s The Beiderbecke Affair.
The audio book, read by James Bolam, is sitting up there on YouTube.
By this reviewer:
From its northern setting: ‘on one such day, cold and grey with a hint of rain, a standard design for days in outer Leeds’ on the allotments and in the comprehensive school of ‘San Quentin High’, which ‘prepares young people for the great job-centre of life’, I found myself in a deftly evoked once-familiar world.
Great characterisation runs throughout, including Detective Sergeant Hobson… BA. ‘To his colleagues he was a lonely and solitary nut. To an objective outsider he might have seemed a bold crusader. The truth was somewhere in between: he was in the early stages of a PhD thesis.’
There is a quality and intelligence of writing here with observations both subtle and humorous. I found so much to enjoy in Alan Plater’s The Beiderbecke Affair.
The audio book, read by James Bolam, is sitting up there on YouTube.
By this reviewer:
July 30, 2013
A good book will make you laugh. A good book will make you think as you work out twists and turns of the plot. A good book will also make you think as it makes subtle points about certain aspects of society.
A great book will do all of these things.
This is a great book.
Popularised back when the world was a different place (or should have been, but we seem to be heading back there), The Beiderbecke Affair was a huge hit for ITV.
The book is even better.
With Trevor and Jill just trying to go about their daily lives, we are thrown in to a world of local politics, corruption, bent coppers, school politics, exploding hedge trimmers, demolished green houses, ex-fiances, rich parents, Big Al, Little Norm, a shed and Jason the dog.
The result is a book that is impossible to put down. If you are racing along, unable to wait for the next development in the hunt for the police supergrass or replacement LPs (like Cds, only better - ask your parents), you're hooked by the central relationship of Jill and Trevor and the vast array of subtle - and less than subtle - gags.
This is a warm, loving book that you want to spend time with, featuring characters you care about doing the right thing to people you don't.
Ad the best thing of all is... there are two more of them to go.
A great book will do all of these things.
This is a great book.
Popularised back when the world was a different place (or should have been, but we seem to be heading back there), The Beiderbecke Affair was a huge hit for ITV.
The book is even better.
With Trevor and Jill just trying to go about their daily lives, we are thrown in to a world of local politics, corruption, bent coppers, school politics, exploding hedge trimmers, demolished green houses, ex-fiances, rich parents, Big Al, Little Norm, a shed and Jason the dog.
The result is a book that is impossible to put down. If you are racing along, unable to wait for the next development in the hunt for the police supergrass or replacement LPs (like Cds, only better - ask your parents), you're hooked by the central relationship of Jill and Trevor and the vast array of subtle - and less than subtle - gags.
This is a warm, loving book that you want to spend time with, featuring characters you care about doing the right thing to people you don't.
Ad the best thing of all is... there are two more of them to go.
February 10, 2015
I was bowled over by The Beiderbecke Trilogy on ITV (1985-1988) and the three accompanying novelisations, beginning with this one, complement it brilliantly. Jill is a genuine idealist, Trevor is an easy-going jazz lover, and the two dovetail together perfectly, becoming two characters it is very easy for readers and viewers to love. The TV series actually changed my expectations of television drama, and whetted my appetite for the likes of Edge of Darkness and A Very Peculiar Practice. The books provide further insights into the world of Jill and Trevor, Inspector Hobson, Big Al and Little Norm and San Quentin High. Read them. Love them. Read them again.
January 24, 2015
An enjoyable light read.
Although I have never seen the TV series, I could picture and hear it in my mind. However, the book has little asides in the narration that would not have been possible on the TV and which add to the enjoyment.
Although I have never seen the TV series, I could picture and hear it in my mind. However, the book has little asides in the narration that would not have been possible on the TV and which add to the enjoyment.
January 4, 2026
The greatest novelisation ever published? Making up for the loss of Bolam and Flynn, Plater brings deeper character insight and Wodehousian joke density.
April 30, 2019
The Beiderbecke Affair is a good fun read; it's full of endearing characters and very funny at times. This is a book that puts a smile on your face.
August 22, 2023
This is such a funny book. All the characters engage. Terrific plot too!
May 4, 2023
Tinged, perhaps, with nostalgia.
I loved the Beiderbecke Affair on TV when I was much younger, and still do. It is so atmospheric of the 1980s.
I discovered the novelisation in a second hand bookshop. A pretty straight adaptation of the TV series (or perhaps vice versa) and as such very enjoyable.
Chaplin and Swinburne remain believable and sympathetic. Big Al has beautiful lines to deliver and emphatic style.
Short and to the point, a good read.
I loved the Beiderbecke Affair on TV when I was much younger, and still do. It is so atmospheric of the 1980s.
I discovered the novelisation in a second hand bookshop. A pretty straight adaptation of the TV series (or perhaps vice versa) and as such very enjoyable.
Chaplin and Swinburne remain believable and sympathetic. Big Al has beautiful lines to deliver and emphatic style.
Short and to the point, a good read.
August 23, 2022
My parents used to watch this series on repeat when I was younger, and now I watch it at least once a year.
This book is honest to the characters- with glimmers of early feminism through our true heroes, Jill and Trevor.
Whyebuggerman, it's a nostalgic read worthy of anyone's time.
This book is honest to the characters- with glimmers of early feminism through our true heroes, Jill and Trevor.
Whyebuggerman, it's a nostalgic read worthy of anyone's time.
October 14, 2022
Quite simply, one of my favourite books ever. Gentle humour, beautifully written.
August 14, 2023
Even better than I remembered it. A delight throughout; every page a treat.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews