Poor Things facts for kids
First edition
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| Author | Alasdair Gray |
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| Cover artist | Alasdair Gray |
| Country | Scotland |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Press |
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Publication date
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1992 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Preceded by | McGrotty and Ludmilla |
Poor Things is a fascinating novel written by the Scottish author Alasdair Gray. It was first published in 1992. This book was very popular and won two important awards: the Whitbread Novel Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize, both in 1992.
People have called Poor Things a "magnificently brisk, funny, dirty, brainy book." It's a bit different from Gray's other stories, which often focus on real life in Glasgow or fantasy. However, this novel, set in the Victorian era, still explores ideas Gray cared about. These include social fairness, relationships between people, how we remember things, and what makes us who we are.
Contents
Discover the Story of Bella Baxter
The main part of Poor Things tells the unusual story of a woman named Bella Baxter. Her early life and who she really is are quite mysterious. The novel makes this even more confusing by showing different versions of her story.
Unraveling Bella's Past
One part of the book is an autobiography written by Bella's husband, Archibald McCandless. It's called "Episodes from the Early Life of a Scottish Public Health Officer." This story changes the truth about his life with Bella.
After that, you read Bella's own side of the story. She (or Victoria, another name for her) says her husband's book isn't true. She suggests he made up her life using popular scary and romantic ideas from that time. She even says it "positively stinks of all that was morbid in that most morbid of centuries." This idea of creating life in a strange way reminds readers of Mary Shelley's famous book, Frankenstein.
Meet the Editor, Alasdair Gray
Before these stories, there's an introduction by someone named Alasdair Gray. He presents himself as the "editor" of the book. He explains how these old papers were "discovered" by his real-life friends, Michael Donnelly and Elspeth King.
In this introduction, the "editor" also shares some thoughts about Glasgow. He talks about how Glasgow City Council treated its culture and history. He also briefly mentions Glasgow being the European Capital of Culture in 1990. This topic would appear more in another of his novels, Something Leather.
Unique Illustrations and Reviews
Poor Things also includes drawings by Alasdair Gray himself. The book pretends these drawings were made by a Scottish artist named William Strang. There are also funny little bits of pictures from Gray's Anatomy, which is a famous book about the human body.
Another interesting thing about the novel is a page of review quotes. This page even has a printed "erratum strip," which is like a correction note. Some of these reviews are clearly made up, like those from the Skiberdeen Eagle or the Private Nose. Others are from real publications, but they sound so harsh that you might wonder if they're real or just a joke!
