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''The Diary of a Nobody'' is an English comic novel written by the brothers George and Weedon Grossmith, with illustrations by the latter. It originated as an intermittent serial in ''Punch'' magazine in 1888–89 and first appeared in book form, with extended text and added illustrations, in 1892. The ''Diary'' records the daily events in the lives of a London clerk, Charles Pooter, his wife Carrie, his son Lupin, and numerous friends and acquaintances over a period of 15 months. Before their collaboration on the ''Diary'', the brothers each pursued successful careers on the stage. George originated nine of the principal comedian roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas over 12 years from 1877 to 1889. He also established a national reputation as a piano sketch entertainer and wrote a large number of songs and comic pieces. Before embarking on his stage career, Weedon had worked as an artist and illustrator. The ''Diary'' was the brothers' only mature collaboration. Most of its humour derives from Charles Pooter's unconscious and unwarranted sense of his own importance, and the frequency with which this delusion is punctured by gaffes and minor social humiliations. In an era of rising expectations within the lower-middle classes, the daily routines and modest ambitions described in the ''Diary'' were instantly recognised by its contemporary readers, and provided later generations with a glimpse of the past that it became fashionable to imitate. Although its initial public reception was muted, the ''Diary'' came to be recognised by critics as a classic work of humour, and it has never been out of print. It helped to establish a genre of humorous popular fiction based on lower or lower-middle class aspirations, and was the forerunner of numerous fictitious diary novels in the later 20th century. The ''Diary'' has been the subject of several stage and screen adaptations, including Ken Russell's "silent film" treatment of 1964, a four-part TV film scripted by Andrew Davies in 2007, and a widely praised stage version in 2011, in which an all-male cast of three played all the parts. ==Authorship and origin== ''The Diary of a Nobody'' was the work of George Grossmith and his brother Weedon Grossmith, the sons of a court reporter and part-time stage entertainer, also named George. The younger George followed his father, first as a reporter and later on the stage; the 7-years-younger Weedon studied at the West London School of Art and had some success as a portrait painter before becoming a comic actor.〔 The brothers were fascinated with the stage at an early age. In 1864, at 17 and 10, they hosted a complex programme of musical and dramatic entertainment in their parents' garden at Haverstock Hill. This included a 20-minute burlesque version of ''Hamlet'', in which George played the title role; Weedon was Ophelia. By 1877 the younger George Grossmith had established himself as a comic piano sketch entertainer in provincial institutes and literary societies. In that year he was seen by Arthur Sullivan and, separately, by W. S. Gilbert, in performances of their one-act comic opera ''Trial by Jury''. Impressed, they engaged him to play the comic lead in their new, full-length work, ''The Sorcerer''.〔Bailey, pp. 116–117〕 Thereafter, Grossmith created the leading comic role in each of Gilbert and Sullivan's long-running comic operas until ''The Yeomen of the Guard'', which closed in 1889.〔 While appearing in the operas, Grossmith continued his piano entertainment career at private parties and matinees, writing and composing his own material. He became the most successful comic entertainer of his day,〔 〕 writing numerous operettas, around 100 piano sketches, some 600 songs and short piano pieces, and three books.〔 〕 For ''Punch'' magazine in 1884 he provided a series of short sketches based on his experiences as a court reporter at Bow Street Magistrates' Court.〔 In 1889, Grossmith ended his connection with Gilbert and Sullivan to pursue his piano sketch career full-time and continued to perform until 1908. He died in 1912.〔Introduction, ''The Diary of a Nobody'' (1969), pp. 7–10〕〔 As an artist Weedon Grossmith exhibited at the Royal Academy and at the Grosvenor Gallery. He also contributed illustrations to ''Punch'' and the prestigious ''Art Journal''.〔 He was nevertheless dissatisfied with his financial prospects as an artist, and by 1885 was pursuing an alternative career as an actor. He continued his career on the stage with considerable success until 1918, making his name playing roles he described as "cowards, cads and snobs", and as browbeaten small men under the thumb of authority. He wrote several plays, of which ''The Night of the Party'' (1901) was his most successful, and from 1894 was engaged in the management of two West End theatres. He died in 1919.〔 The literary scholar Peter Morton, who published an annotated edition of the ''Diary'' in 2009, suggests that many of the events depicted in it were drawn from the brothers' own home experiences, and that Weedon, "something of a scapegrace compared with his perfectionist brother", was the model for Lupin.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Diary of a Nobody」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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