{"product_id":"billy-liar-9781939140302","title":"Billy Liar","description":"\u003ch2\u003eBilly Liar by Keith Waterhouse\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA landmark comic novel of 1950s British working-class life, now back in print after fifty years.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBilly Fisher is trapped. His working-class parents suffocate him, his job as an undertaker's clerk drains his spirit, and his provincial town offers no escape. His only refuge exists in elaborate daydreams where he rules the imaginary country of Ambrosia. But Billy's fantasies bleed into reality through constant lies—to his parents, his employer, and his three girlfriends simultaneously.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOver one tragi-comic Saturday, Billy plots his escape to London and a life of adventure. Instead, all his carefully constructed lies collide with hilarious and disastrous consequences. Keith Waterhouse captures the agony and attitude of youth with uncanny precision, creating a character both absurd and deeply human.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eCritical Acclaim\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Buy, borrow or beg Keith Waterhouse's outstanding new novel. I can't recommend it too highly. Waterhouse has an uncanny gift for recapturing every attitude, agony and phrase of childhood and youth.\" - \u003ci\u003eDaily Mirror\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"I wished I'd written Keith Waterhouse's first novel; and now, even more, I wish I'd written his second . . . \u003ci\u003eBilly Liar\u003c\/i\u003e is very funny: funny in a wild and sardonic and high-spirited way without malice or cruelty.\" - John Braine, author of \u003ci\u003eRoom at the Top\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"A brilliant novel, in language fresh and sweet, with characters vivid and singular in an inventive and dynamic story. It teems, it bursts with originality.\" - \u003ci\u003eSaturday Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Extremely funny . . . its lambent humour, quick-changing from robust to the delicate, is always fresh . . . should gladden the hearts of even the most exacting readers.\" - \u003ci\u003eDaily Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eCultural Impact\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePublished in 1959, \u003ci\u003eBilly Liar\u003c\/i\u003e became a smash bestseller and one of the defining comic novels of the 20th century. The book inspired an award-winning film, a stage play, a musical, a television series, and a sequel, cementing its place in British cultural history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eThis Edition\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis marks the novel's first American publication in more than fifty years. The edition includes a new introduction by Nick Bentley and reproduces the original jacket art by William Belcher, offering readers both historical context and authentic period presentation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor readers who appreciate sharp social observation, dark humor, and authentic portrayals of working-class Britain, \u003ci\u003eBilly Liar\u003c\/i\u003e remains essential reading—a window into post-war England and the universal struggle between dreams and reality.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Valancourt Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50493241491730,"sku":"9781939140302","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_1cd7850d-3237-4168-bd5b-ddc0752d7559.jpg?v=1744211999","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/billy-liar-9781939140302","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}