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Porterhouse Blue

Porterhouse Blue is a satirical novel by British author Tom Sharpe, first published in 1974, that lampoons the entrenched traditions and resistance to change at the fictional Porterhouse College, a stand-in for conservative Oxbridge institutions.^[1] The story follows Sir Godber Evans, a politically ambitious new Master determined to impose progressive reforms on the college's indulgent, anti-intellectual culture, only to provoke chaotic backlash from loyalists like the scheming head porter Matthew Skullion, whose devotion to the status quo—epitomized by lavish feasts and nepotistic admissions—drives a cascade of absurd mishaps, including fatal overindulgences and botched espionage.^[2] Sharpe's narrative skewers both the sclerotic elitism of the old guard and the hypocritical zeal of modernizers, employing his signature blend of grotesque physical comedy, sexual farce, and institutional incompetence to expose the hypocrisies of academic and class hierarchies.^[3] The novel's enduring appeal lies in its sharp critique of unexamined privilege and the perils of enforced "progress," with Skullion emerging as a cunning anti-hero whose manipulations culminate in ironic triumph amid tragedy.^[1] Adapted into a four-part Channel 4 television miniseries in 1987, featuring David Jason as Skullion and Ian Richardson as Sir Godber, the work amplified Sharpe's reputation for darkly comic dissections of British society, spawning a sequel, Grantchester Grind, in 1995 that revisits the college's enduring absurdities.^[4] While praised for its irreverent wit, Porterhouse Blue has drawn occasional criticism for its unapologetic crudity, reflecting Sharpe's broader oeuvre of targeting sacred cows without deference to prevailing pieties.^[3]

Background and Publication

Publication History

Porterhouse Blue was first published in 1974 by Secker & Warburg in London as Tom Sharpe's third novel.^[5]^[6] The hardcover first edition consists of 220 pages and features a satirical narrative set in the fictional Porterhouse College at Cambridge University.^[5] Subsequent editions followed, including a 1976 paperback release by Pan Books.^[7] In the United States, the novel appeared in a first American edition in 1989 from Atlantic Monthly Press.^[8] Later reprints were issued by publishers such as Arrow in 2002 and Cornerstone Digital in 2011, expanding its availability in various formats including ebooks.^[9] The book's publication aligned with Sharpe's rising prominence in British satirical fiction, following his earlier works critiquing South African apartheid, and contributed to his reputation for skewering institutional traditions.^[10] No major revisions to the text have been noted across editions, preserving the original content focused on academic and social absurdities.^[9]

Cultural and Historical Context

Porterhouse Blue, published in 1974, reflects the historical push for higher education reform in Britain following the 1963 Robbins Report, which recommended expanding full-time student numbers from 238,000 in 1963/64 to 558,000 by 1980/81 to align with economic and demographic needs.^[11] While this spurred the creation of new universities and broader access, Oxbridge's collegiate system preserved significant autonomy, allowing resistance to centralized changes like enhanced academic focus and social inclusivity.^[12] The novel's depiction of Porterhouse College as a haven for tradition—emphasizing male exclusivity, lavish feasts, and connections over scholarship—mirrors this inertia amid 1970s pressures for modernization. In Cambridge, co-education advanced unevenly; women gained degree eligibility in 1948, but undergraduate colleges largely excluded them until the early 1970s, with Clare, King's, and Churchill pioneering admissions in 1972.^[13] ^[14] Sharpe satirizes such reluctance through the reformist Master Sir Godber Evans's failed efforts to introduce women and intellectual rigor, clashing with fellows who view the college as a gentlemen's club rather than an academic institution.^[15] This tension underscores real cultural divides in elite academia, where traditions rooted in centuries-old practices perpetuated class privileges even as postwar Britain democratized other sectors. Sharpe, informed by his studies at Pembroke College, Cambridge, from 1948 to 1951, exaggerated these dynamics to critique institutional self-preservation in a society navigating economic challenges and eroding deference to authority.^[16] The novel's farce highlights causal realities of entrenched power: alumni influence and internal hierarchies prioritized stasis over adaptation, a pattern evident in Oxbridge's slow evolution despite national reforms.^[1]

Authorial Influences

Tom Sharpe's Biography and Style

Thomas Ridley Sharpe was born on 30 March 1928 in London, England, to a father who was a Unitarian minister and anti-Nazi activist.^[17] Educated first at Lancing College and later at Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he studied social anthropology and history, Sharpe completed national service in the Royal Marines before moving to South Africa in the early 1950s.^[18] There, he worked variously as a teacher, social worker, and advertising copywriter, but his outspoken criticism of apartheid led to his deportation for sedition in 1961 after involvement in anti-regime protests.^[19] Returning to England, Sharpe initially struggled financially, living in a caravan and working odd jobs, before turning to fiction writing in his forties; his debut novel, Riotous Assembly (1971), and follow-up Indecent Exposure (1973) lampooned South African racial policies through absurd, escalating farces.^[17] These early works established his reputation, but Porterhouse Blue (1974) marked his pivot to satirizing British institutions, drawing implicitly from his Cambridge experiences and observations of Oxbridge elitism.^[20] Sharpe authored 16 novels in total, including the Wilt series, before his death from complications of dementia on 6 June 2013 at age 85 in Lleida, Spain, where he had retired.^[19] Sharpe's literary style blended high farce with scabrous, scatological humor, employing grotesque physical comedy and improbable plot escalations to dismantle pretensions in authority figures and entrenched customs.^[21] Unlike gentler English humorists such as P.G. Wodehouse, Sharpe's satire was darker and more savage, targeting the hypocrisies of academia, bureaucracy, and class structures through characters driven by base instincts—gluttony, lust, and petty rivalries—often culminating in chaotic, bodily disasters that underscore institutional inertia.^[22] In Porterhouse Blue, this manifests in the college's resistance to modernization, where traditions like excessive feasting and misogynistic rituals are amplified to absurd extremes, reflecting Sharpe's view of reform as a disruptive force clashing with ossified hierarchies; he drew from real Oxbridge dynamics but exaggerated them for comic effect, avoiding direct autobiography while critiquing post-war British society's tensions between progress and preservation.^[20] Critics noted his unapologetic vulgarity as a deliberate tool to shock complacency, prioritizing narrative momentum over subtlety, which yielded bestsellers but occasionally drew charges of misogyny from sources predisposed to moralizing interpretations.^[23] Sharpe himself attributed early influences to his father's ethical rigor, later evolving into a profane realism that privileged causal chains of human folly over ideological preaching.^[1]

Inspirations for Porterhouse Blue

The fictional Porterhouse College is loosely modeled after Pembroke College, Cambridge, where Tom Sharpe studied in the early 1950s, and the neighboring Corpus Christi College, both emblematic of the university's conservative traditions that Sharpe observed firsthand.^[24] These institutions' resistance to modernization, including reluctance toward co-education and administrative reforms, informed the novel's portrayal of a bastion of outdated rituals clashing with progressive impositions.^[20] The character of Skullion, the steadfast head porter embodying institutional loyalty, is widely regarded as inspired by Ian Jaggard, a long-serving porter at Corpus Christi College whose dedication to college customs mirrored the fictional archetype.^[25] Corpus Christi's own records highlight Jaggard's influence on Sharpe's depiction of Skullion's cunning preservation of the status quo against external pressures.^[26] Sharpe's broader inspirations stemmed from his direct encounters with Cambridge's hierarchical bureaucracy and the cultural inertia of elite academia, which he contrasted with the radical changes advocated by figures like the novel's Master, Sir Godber Evans, reflecting real 1970s debates over university governance and elitism.^[1] While exaggerated for satirical effect, these elements drew from Sharpe's anthropological lens on British institutional absurdities, honed during his undergraduate years and subsequent reflections on Oxbridge's detachment from societal evolution.^[20]

Fictional Elements

Setting and World-Building

Porterhouse College serves as the primary setting for Porterhouse Blue, depicted as a fictional constituent college of the University of Cambridge characterized by its unyielding adherence to archaic traditions and resistance to contemporary academic reforms.^[27] The institution is portrayed as a self-contained enclave where scholarly pursuits are overshadowed by ritualistic indulgences, including opulent banquets in a lavish dining hall and the curation of an extensive wine cellar stocked over centuries.^[28] This environment fosters a culture of complacency among its elderly, bachelor fellows, who prioritize the college's sporting legacy—particularly its formidable rowing crew—over intellectual rigor, resulting in notoriously lax academic standards.^[28] The world-building extends to the college's physical and social architecture, evoking a medieval fortress-like isolation within the broader Cambridge collegiate system, complete with quadrangles, chapels, and porter's lodge that reinforce hierarchical customs and exclusivity.^[15] Traditions such as the consumption of legendary porterhouse steaks during feasts and the annual "bump" rowing races underscore a hedonistic, anti-progressive ethos, where endowments from historical benefactors sustain opulence without demanding innovation or coeducation.^[15] ^[27] Interactions with external forces, including government appointees and urban Cambridge, highlight the college's anachronistic detachment, positioning it as a microcosm of institutional inertia amid mid-20th-century Britain's push for modernization.

Characters

Skullion serves as the head porter of Porterhouse College, a position he has held for 45 years, embodying the institution's entrenched traditions through his deference to faculty, meticulous maintenance of customs like shoe polishing, and staunch opposition to any dilution of the college's hierarchical and culinary heritage.^[10] ^[29] As a comic yet poignant figure, Skullion allies with influential former students, known as "Skullion's Scholars," to sabotage reformist initiatives, ultimately suffering a stroke that leaves him paralyzed but unyielding in his loyalty to the old order.^[10] ^[30] Sir Godber Evans, appointed Master after his dismissal from the Cabinet, arrives as an earnest reformer intent on elevating academic standards by admitting women undergraduates, installing modern amenities like condom dispensers, and shifting to external catering to curb the college's extravagant feasts.^[29] ^[30] His efforts clash with the conservative establishment, portraying him as an outsider driven by ideological zeal rather than institutional affinity. Lady Mary Evans, his politically ambitious wife, amplifies these reforms, leveraging her influence to challenge the college's resistance to co-education and fiscal prudence.^[30] The Dean, a quintessential traditionalist among the senior fellows, defends Porterhouse's legacy of sporting prowess, mediocre scholarship, and unchanging rituals, viewing reform as a threat to the college's five-century-old equilibrium.^[30] He collaborates with figures like the Senior Tutor and Bursar, who favor protracted debates and budgetary conservatism to preserve the status quo against Evans's agenda.^[30] Lionel Zipser, the college's sole research student, features in a farcical subplot as a timid, sexually frustrated scholar whose ill-advised infatuation with his landlady, the corpulent widow Mrs. Biggs—a bedder who reciprocates aggressively—culminates in their mutual demise via a gas explosion.^[29] ^[10] Cornelius Carrington, an investigative journalist and ex-Porterhouse alumnus, probes the college's underbelly, exposing hypocrisies amid the broader satire.^[30]

Narrative Structure

Plot Summary

The novel Porterhouse Blue is set at the fictional Porterhouse College, a traditional Cambridge University institution celebrated for its rowing team, opulent dining hall, extensive wine cellar, and minimal emphasis on scholarly pursuits.^[28]^[10] After the incumbent Master's fatal overindulgence during a formal dinner, Sir Godber Evans, a disgraced Labour politician sidelined from cabinet duties, receives the Mastership as a political consolation prize.^[29] Evans promptly launches aggressive modernization efforts, proposing the admission of female students, selection based on intellectual merit rather than athletic ability, replacement of the kitchen staff with external caterers, conversion of the dining hall to a cafeteria, and installation of vending machines for contraceptives.^[28]^[10] These initiatives provoke vehement resistance from the entrenched fellows—including the Dean, Canon Bowel, and Sir Cathcart D’Eath—and above all from Head Porter Matthew Skullion, a 45-year veteran fiercely devoted to the college's customs and alumni network.^[29]^[10] Skullion orchestrates covert countermeasures, leveraging his influence over "Skullion's Scholars"—a system aiding underqualified graduates through proxy exam-takers—and rallying donors to undermine Evans's agenda.^[10] Interwoven is the subplot of Lionel Zipser, Porterhouse's lone research postgraduate, whose obsessive infatuation with his bedder, the corpulent Mrs. Biggs, spirals into farce involving bulk condom purchases and clandestine encounters.^[29]^[10] Escalating conflicts spawn a cascade of calamities, including botched sabotage attempts, public scandals, and a probing television documentary that scrutinizes the college's excesses, ultimately precipitating lethal mishaps—a gas explosion claiming two lives—and Skullion's paralytic stroke, reshaping the institution's power dynamics in unforeseen ways.^[28]^[29]

Themes and Satire

Critique of Reform and Tradition

In Porterhouse Blue, Tom Sharpe satirizes the entrenched traditions of Cambridge's fictional Porterhouse College, portraying it as a bastion of academic mediocrity where fellows indulge in excessive High Table feasts that precipitate fatal strokes known as "Porterhouse Blue," prioritizing gastronomic excess and social elitism over scholarly rigor.^[15] The institution's resistance to change is embodied by figures like Head Porter Skullion, whose 45 years of service enforce rigid hierarchies and schemes such as hiring impostors to maintain exam standards, highlighting how unyielding custom fosters corruption and stagnation.^[10]^[29] Sharpe equally critiques reformist impulses through the new Master, Sir Godber Evans, a progressive outsider who seeks to impose modernization by advocating co-education, installing contraceptive machines, and shifting to self-service dining and external catering to align the college with contemporary social and academic standards.^[15]^[29] These initiatives, intended to dismantle outdated practices, instead ignite farcical disasters, including a deadly gas explosion from inflated condoms during a botched resistance effort, illustrating the perils of top-down change in an insular environment ill-prepared for disruption.^[10]^[31] The novel's dual-edged satire exposes the absurdities on both sides: tradition's obtuse preservation of a "small" worldview among the dons, and reform's naive overreach that ignores institutional realities, reflecting 1970s tensions in expanding universities where innovation clashed with established order.^[15]^[21] This portrayal underscores a causal disconnect between ideological drives for progress and the practical inertia of academic bureaucracies, with consequences amplifying human failings like ambition and egotism rather than resolving them.^[21]^[31]

Academic and Bureaucratic Satire

In Porterhouse Blue, Tom Sharpe satirizes the ossified traditions of elite British academia by portraying Porterhouse College's fellows as indolent relics who prioritize ritualistic gluttony over intellectual endeavor, exemplified by their High Table banquets that induce apoplectic fits known as "Porterhouse blue."^[15] The senior fellows, including the Dean, Senior Tutor, and Bursar, embody a vainglorious and scheming hierarchy that enforces mediocrity and exclusivity, resisting any dilution of their privileges through absurd machinations against perceived threats to the status quo.^[15] This depiction draws from Sharpe's own experiences at Cambridge's Pembroke College, amplifying institutional rigidity into farce to critique the self-perpetuating complacency of Oxbridge dons.^[32] The novel's bureaucratic satire targets external impositions of reform on autonomous academic bodies, as seen in the appointment of Sir Godber Evans as Master, an ex-Cabinet minister driven by his wife's progressive zeal to enforce co-education, research mandates, and utilitarian changes like self-service canteens and contraceptive dispensers.^[15] These initiatives, portrayed as top-down political meddling, clash catastrophically with the college's entrenched customs, resulting in farcical outcomes such as nocturnal explosions and illicit liaisons that undermine the reformers' naive faith in bureaucratic efficiency.^[15] Sharpe underscores the hubris of state-aligned administrators who disrupt time-tested structures without grasping their organic functions, highlighting how such interventions breed resentment and dysfunction rather than progress.^[32] Sharpe's Rabelaisian approach extends to the absurdity of academic rituals and power plays, where even minor functionaries like head porter Skullion wield outsized influence through loyalty to tradition, subverting reformist agendas via petty sabotage and intrigue.^[15] The satire equilibrates scorn for both stagnant conservatism—manifest in the fellows' hypochondriac idleness—and intrusive modernity, as Evans's committee-driven schemes expose the folly of equating administrative fiat with enlightenment.^[32] Ultimately, the narrative reveals academia's vulnerability to bureaucratic overreach, where external pressures amplify internal hypocrisies without resolving them.^[15] Porterhouse Blue offers a pointed satire on the British class system as embodied in Oxbridge institutions, portraying Porterhouse College as a bastion of upper-class entitlement where academic merit is secondary to social pedigree and hedonistic rituals. The college prioritizes "gentlemen" over scholars, with fellows indulging in lavish feasts and minimal intellectual labor, reflecting entrenched elitism that favors hereditary privilege and tradition over broader access or rigorous scholarship.^[33] This depiction critiques the social stratification of 1970s Britain, where ancient universities served as clubs for the elite, resisting democratization efforts that threatened their insularity.^[34] Politically, the novel lampoons top-down reform initiatives, exemplified by the appointment of Sir Godber Evans, a grammar-school-educated ex-politician tasked with modernizing the college through measures like admitting women and promoting research over gastronomy. Evans's progressive agenda, influenced by his wife's advocacy for social justice, clashes with the fellows' sabotage tactics, highlighting the futility of bureaucratic interventions in sclerotic institutions. Sharpe illustrates how such reforms, often ideologically driven, provoke absurd countermeasures that preserve the status quo, underscoring a skepticism toward state-imposed change without grassroots buy-in.^[15]^[33] This mirrors 1970s political tensions, including Labour government pushes for educational equity amid economic stagnation, where traditional power structures undermined egalitarian policies.^[21] The work further comments on the absurdities of both conservatism and reformism, portraying traditionalists as venal reactionaries and reformers as naive interlopers disconnected from institutional realities. By exaggerating these dynamics—such as the fellows' use of pornography and fatal pranks to thwart change—Sharpe exposes the human failings that perpetuate social inertia, while critiquing the sexual revolution's incursions into hallowed spaces without addressing deeper cultural resistances.^[15]^[21] Ultimately, the satire reveals causal realities of power: entrenched interests, rooted in class loyalty and self-preservation, reliably outmaneuver abstract ideals of progress, a theme resonant with broader failures of mid-20th-century British institutional modernization.^[33]

Reception and Legacy

Initial Critical Response

Porterhouse Blue, Tom Sharpe's third novel, was published in the United Kingdom in 1974 by Secker & Warburg.^[6] The book quickly garnered attention for its farcical satire of academic traditions and reform efforts at a fictional Cambridge college.^[15] In the United States, it appeared under Prentice-Hall, listed in The New York Times as a work depicting "comic events in the modernization of an English college."^[35] Critics appreciated the novel's sharp humor and exaggerated characterizations, positioning it within the tradition of British campus satire. Martin Levin of The New York Times lauded Sharpe as "one of England's funniest writers," aligning him with 19th-century satirists for his incisive portrayal of institutional absurdities.^[3] The work's blend of slapstick and social commentary on elitism and resistance to change resonated, contributing to its integration into post-war literary discussions of university life.^[15] While immediate sales figures from 1974 are not widely documented, the novel's favorable early notices foreshadowed its commercial success and cultural impact, including later adaptations.^[36] Reviewers noted its relevance to ongoing debates about tradition versus modernity in British higher education, though some observed its unsparing depiction of academic pomposity might provoke defensiveness among insiders.^[37]

Scholarly Analysis

Scholars position Porterhouse Blue within the campus novel genre, where it exaggerates the "uncouth underbellies" of ostensibly elite academic environments to expose systemic hypocrisies and institutional inertia.^[38] The novel's farcical elements, such as the explosive mishaps in the Bull Tower and the commodification of degrees through schemes like "Skullion’s Scholars," serve as hyperbolic critiques of how traditional structures resist external modernization efforts, often amplifying absurdities rather than resolving them.^[38] Applying Niklas Luhmann's systems theory, Vincent Wen-Shan Lien interprets the work as a depiction of "interpenetration" between societal (town) and organizational (gown) systems, where Porterhouse College's self-referential traditions—embodied by figures like the head porter Skullion—clash with progressive reforms imposed by Sir Godber Evans, resulting in destabilizing entropy and unpredictable outcomes, such as Skullion's ascent to the mastership.^[38] This analysis underscores the novel's revelation of academia's vulnerability to broader societal complexities, portraying satire not merely as comedic exaggeration but as a diagnostic tool for observing second-order systemic failures in higher education.^[38] In broader literary criticism, Porterhouse Blue exemplifies the 1970s resurgence of satirical fiction in Britain, targeting the "Condition of England" through portrayals of class hierarchies, bureaucratic excess, and entrenched resistance to change within Oxbridge-like institutions.^[39] Critics note its alignment with contemporaries in the genre, where such novels routinely lampoon administrative hypocrisy and the collision of archaic rituals with contemporary demands, contributing to a renewed academic appreciation for satire's role in dissecting social structures.^[40]^[39]

Enduring Impact and Modern Relevance

Porterhouse Blue has maintained a significant place in British literary satire, serving as a benchmark for critiques of institutional inertia and the follies of academic reform. Published in 1974, the novel's exaggerated depictions of Cambridge's Porterhouse College continue to resonate in discussions of higher education's resistance to modernization, influencing subsequent works in the campus novel genre that explore elitism and bureaucratic absurdity. Its enduring appeal lies in Sharpe's unsparing portrayal of entrenched traditions clashing with external pressures for change, a dynamic that scholars have analyzed through frameworks like systems theory to examine town-gown interpenetration and institutional entropy.^[38] The 1987 television adaptation, directed by Robert Knights and starring Ian Richardson as the Dean, extended the novel's reach, garnering critical acclaim and viewership that preserved its satirical bite for broader audiences; episodes remain accessible on platforms like YouTube, sustaining interest among viewers interested in historical British comedy. This adaptation amplified the book's commentary on university governance, highlighting how self-perpetuating elites sabotage progressive initiatives, a theme that echoes in ongoing debates about funding, admissions, and curriculum reforms in elite institutions. In modern contexts, Porterhouse Blue's relevance persists amid escalating ideological conflicts in academia, where attempts at reform often encounter fierce backlash from vested interests, mirroring the novel's central conflict. Commentators have observed that contemporary university campuses, marked by enforced ideological uniformity and administrative overreach, have surpassed the book's fictional excesses, rendering traditional satire potentially obsolete as real events—such as controversies over free speech and curriculum politicization—provide material too farcical for invention. This perspective underscores the novel's prescience in anticipating how reformist zeal can provoke disproportionate defenses of the status quo, a pattern evident in recent institutional responses to external scrutiny.^[15]

Adaptations

Television Mini-Series

The television adaptation of Porterhouse Blue is a four-episode mini-series produced for Channel 4, first broadcast on 3 June 1987, with subsequent episodes airing on 10 June, 17 June, and 24 June 1987.^[41] ^[4] Adapted by Malcolm Bradbury from Tom Sharpe's 1974 novel, the series was directed by Robert Knights and produced by Brian Eastman, retaining the book's satirical focus on academic tradition versus reform at the fictional Porterhouse College, Cambridge.^[42] ^[43] Each episode runs approximately 50 minutes, emphasizing the novel's farcical elements through visual comedy and sharp dialogue.^[42] The cast features David Jason as the traditionalist head porter Skullion, Ian Richardson as the reformist Master Sir Godber Evans, Paul Rogers as the Dean, John Woodnutt as the Senior Tutor, and Harold Innocent as the Bursar, with supporting roles including John Sessions and Barbara Jefford.^[42] This ensemble delivers performances praised for capturing the characters' eccentricities and the story's caustic humor, with Jason's portrayal of Skullion noted for its priggish authenticity central to the plot's conflicts over college governance and scandals.^[44] The production, handled by Picture Partnership Productions in association with Channel Four, filmed on location to evoke Oxbridge elitism without significant deviations from the source material's narrative structure.^[43] Reception highlighted the adaptation's fidelity to Sharpe's satire on bureaucratic inertia and upper-class complacency in higher education, earning a 7.6/10 rating from viewers for its well-cast ensemble and brisk pacing.^[45] Critics described it as a "vicious satire" effectively translating the novel's slapstick and social commentary to screen, though some noted the television format tempered the book's more extreme absurdities for broader accessibility.^[33] ^[44] The series has endured as a notable example of 1980s British television comedy-drama, occasionally rebroadcast and available on streaming platforms.^[46]

Other Adaptations

A stage adaptation of Porterhouse Blue was created by Stephen Briggs for performance by the Studio Theatre Club, prior to his work on Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.^[47] This theatrical version captured the novel's satirical elements of academic tradition and reform, though specific production dates and performance records remain limited in public documentation.^[48] In 2018, another adaptation was staged at the ADC Theatre in Cambridge from February 6 to 10, directed as a "funny, fast-paced extravaganza" emphasizing the book's comedic critique of university life.^[49] This production, aimed at a student audience, highlighted the chaotic interplay between Porterhouse College's conservative fellows and progressive intrusions. No major radio dramas, films, or international adaptations beyond the 1987 television mini-series have been produced.

References

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[35]
Recently Published Books - The New York Times
Porterhouse Blue, by Tom Sharpe (Prentice‐Hall, $7.95). Comic events in the modernization of an English college. Advertisement. SKIP ADVERTISEMENT. Short ...<|separator|>
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Porterhouse Blue: Sharpe, Tom - Amazon.com
Book 1 of 2. Porterhouse Blue ; Print length. 224 pages ; Language. English ; Publisher. Atlantic Monthly Press ; Publication date. January 18, 1994.
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FFB: Porterhouse Blue – Tom Sharpe - K. A. Laity
Nov 18, 2016 · What's fun about this book is the horrible way the petty politics quickly ascend to the heights of absurdity as the new Master of Porterhouse ...Missing: critique | Show results with:critique
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Interpenetration and the town and gown divide: A systems ...
May 28, 2025 · In the context of Porterhouse Blue, we can see how this interpenetrative relationship is played out through the interactions between characters ...
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[PDF] The Revival of the Satiric Spirit in Contemporary British Fiction1
... Tom Sharpe's satire on the excesses of the. English upper classes in ... Porterhouse Blue (1974 ). Wilt (1976). The Wilt Alternative (1979). Wilt on ...<|separator|>
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[PDF] Mapping the Development and Themes of Campus Novels - IJCRT.org
Aug 8, 2024 · Sharpe's Porterhouse Blue (1974), Donna Tartt's The Secret History ... Campus novels frequently critique the bureaucratic and often hypocritical ...
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Porterhouse Blue: Season 1 - Rotten Tomatoes
Episode 1 video still. Episode 1 Aired Jun 3, 1987 ; Episode 2 video still. Episode 2 Aired Jun 10, 1987 ; Episode 3 video still. Episode 3 Aired Jun 17, 1987.
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Porterhouse Blue - C4 Comedy Drama
Key details ; Channel: Channel 4 ; Episodes: 4 (1 series) ; Creator: Tom Sharpe ; Stars: David Jason, Ian Richardson, John Sessions, Paul Rogers, John Woodnutt, ...Missing: mini- adaptation<|separator|>
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Porterhouse Blue (1987) - BFI Screenonline
Porterhouse Blue is a scurrilous satire on the upper-class elitism of Oxbridge universities and their perceived complacency, wrapped up in a story replete with ...<|separator|>
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Porterhouse Blue (TV Mini Series 1987) - User reviews - IMDb
Brilliant, just brilliant satire of Oxbridge traditions, set here in a Cambridge college famous for not caring about scholastic achievement to the point of the ...
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Porterhouse Blue (TV Mini Series 1987) - IMDb
Rating 7.6/10 (556) Social satire on life on Cambridge College - from the headmaster to the students and even one memorable bedder.
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Porterhouse Blue - streaming tv show online - JustWatch
Rating 29% (34) You are able to buy "Porterhouse Blue" on Amazon Video as download. There aren't any free streaming options for Porterhouse Blue right now.
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About Me - Stephen Briggs
... Porterhouse Blue' and 'Blott on the Landscape' for the stage. While looking for a new project, someone suggested that I might like to try the works of Terry ...Missing: dramatized | Show results with:dramatized<|separator|>
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Stephen Briggs - Discworld & Terry Pratchett Wiki
Mar 14, 2025 · ... adapted Monty Python's Life of Brian and Holy Grail, and Tom Sharpe's Porterhouse Blue and Blott on the Landscape for the stage. While ...
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Porterhouse Blue preview: 'funny, fast-paced extravaganza ... - Varsity
Feb 4, 2018 · An adaptation of Tom Sharpe's 1974 novel Porterhouse Blue, a roaring satire of Cambridge and the perpetual tension between tradition and reform.