The Good Life - Softcover

Esmonde, John; Larbey, Bob

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140033769 ISBN 13: 9780140033762

Publisher: Penguin, 1983

Synopsis

It's not fashionable to admit, perhaps, but I loved 'The Good Life'. When I was at school, the local PBS station ran episodes in a block of British programming every Thursday night, and I adored it, laughed at the antics of Tom and Jerry (always wondered if those names were deliberate plays of the cat and mouse), and rather lusted after Felicity Kendall's Barbara. The story of how Tom and Barbara Good decide to drop out of mid-70s suburban life in Surbiton, and have a go at becoming self-sufficient, their misadventures and travails, and their friends and dismayed neighbours Jerry and Margo Leadbetter may now seem somewhat twee, but honestly, I still love it. Having been too young in the 70s, though, I didn't know that show writers Esmonde and Larbey has also written two book adaptations, of which this is the first. Stumbling across them rather made my week. This book follows the first nine episodes, and is almost a word for word transcript of the series as broadcast. If the reader is hoping for more expansion on the characters, they will be disappointed, but if, like me, they just fondly remember the series and haven't seen it for a while, it's great. After all, the book dates to the pre-video era, and most people weren't recording programmes to watch again. I could hear the actors in my head again, including the much lamented Paul Eddington, who played Jerry.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 1983
• ISBN 10: 0140033769
• ISBN 13: 9780140033762
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 160