The Diary of a Nobody

The Diary of a Nobody, an English comic novel written by George Grossmith and his brother Weedon Grossmith. It is considered a classic work of humour and has never been out of print. The diary is the fictitious record of fifteen months in the life of Mr. Charles Pooter, a middle aged city clerk of lower middle-class status but significant social aspirations, living in the fictional 'Brickfield Terrace' in Upper Holloway which was then a typical suburb of the impecuniously respectable kind. The humour derives from Pooter's unconscious gaffes and self-importance, as well as the snubs he receives from those he considers socially inferior, such as tradesmen. In The Diary of a Nobody the Grossmiths create an accurate if amusing record of the manners, customs and experiences of lower-middle-class, suburban Londoners of the late Victorian era. The book has spawned the word “Pooterish” to describe a tendency to take oneself excessively seriously.