Peter Ustinov

A collection of short stories by the multi talented Mr Ustinov

this is one of the funniest books I have ever read ,its off beat satire of religion and the relationship between god and the devil is clever and witty you will not be dissappointed

National Theatre, Louis A. Lotito, managing director, David Merrick presents Peter Ustiov in "Romanoff and Juliet," a new comedy, with Henry Lascoe, Marianne Deeming, Edward Atienza, Humphrey Davis, Louise Collins, Suzanne Cloutier, Alexander Davion, Carl Don, William Greene, Wood Romoff, Sy Travers, Bess Winburn, written by Peter Ustinov, staged by George S. Kaufman, setting by Denis Malcles, settings and lighting supervised by Howard Bay, costumes by Helene Pons, incidental music by Harold Rome, ballads by Anthony Hopkins and Peter Ustinov.

Play - First published in 1966. It is about war revolving around the unknown soldier whose fate is always to go to war leaving his wife at a moments notice without any regard for his own situation. But this time in his play- Ustinov gives the soldier the decision to make:" If we don't find an enemy to share our common interests... then we don't deserve to survive...". The common interest is "living".

Ustinov possesses the uncommon ability to amuse and touch readers simultaneously, a talent which has nowhere been better displayed than in this fascinating array of short stories. Traveling through this collection is like mingling at a dinner party attended by numerous diverse and infinitely interesting guests. Ustinov introduces us to characters who are vivid and authentic, their dilemmas and the lessons they learn affecting, their dialogue intelligent and thought-provoking. Getting to know these people is an exciting experience indeed.

The title story illustrates beautifully Ustinov's ability to weave pointed observations into his fiction. "Life Is an Operetta", features a young Hungarian woman, Mitzi, who is obsessed with the stage but poor at choosing lovers - so much so that the one man who can provide her with security and support is the one who is always left behind. Readers are offered a tour of many interesting locales and an education in various cultural traditions as the settings of the stories range from Spain through Switzerland, France, Hungary, and Italy, to England, America, and the Australia of "Billiwoonga". Ustinov's characters are equally varied in personality and social status. In "Dreams of Papua" we are given a glimpse into the rather ordinary personalities of a fictional president of the United States and his Soviet counterpart during the Cold War. In "The Swiss Watch" the loneliness of an Italian maid living far from home and her affection for her good-for-nothing nephews are touchingly portrayed.

RONNIE CORBETT: Introduction P.G. WODEHOUSE: 'The Voice from the Past' RING LARDNER: Mr and Mrs Fix-It H.F. ELLIS: Lent Term 1939 The Man Faggott (from The Papers of A.J. Wentworth, BA) FREDERIC RAPHAEL: Chinatown MARK TWAIN: A Restless Night KEITH WATERHOUSE: A Family Breakfast (from Billy Liar) BARRY PAIN: The Insult ANONYMOUS: The Simple Story of G. Washington PAUL THEROUX: Algebra NATHANIEL GUBBINS: Gubbins Goes to War JAMES HERRIOT: Tristan's Romance (from Vet in a Spin) BRET HARTE: A Jersey Centenarian A.C. GAMES: Russell's Fantasy ROBERT J. BURDETTE: First-class Snake Stories BOB LARBEY: New Jobs for Old (from A Fine Romance) OSCAR WILDE: The Canterville Ghost RING LARDNER: A Day with Conrad Green SEAN O'FAOLAIN: The Woman Who Married Clark Gable JEROME K. JEROME: I Become an Actor DAVID NOBBS: Chlistmas (from The Better World of Reginald Perrin) BARRY PAIN: The Unsuccessful Sinner GIOVANNI GUARESCHI: Crime and Punishment (from The Little World of Don Camillo) JAMES HERRIOT: The Butcher (from Vets Might Fly) DOROTHY PARKER: You Were Perfectly Fine ARNOLD BENNETT: Raising a Wigwam (from The Card) W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM: The Facts Of Life STEPHEN LEACOCK: Mr Plumter, BA, Revisits the Old Shop (from Happy Stories) ROB BUCKMAN: Jogging from Memory (from Jogging from Memory) ALASDAIR GREY: The Problem (from Unlikely Stories, Mostly) JOYCE GRENFELL: Canteen in Wartime (from Turn Back the Clock) ART BUCHWALD: Coward in the Congo (from I Chose Caviar) SAKI: The Story-teller JOHN VERNEY: Tea at the Embassy (from Verney Abroad) HARRY SECOMBE: Goon Away — Try Next Door (from Goon for Lunch) JOHN WYNDHAM: Pawley's Peepholes (from The Seeds of Time) JEAN DAVIS: Trees and Tribulations GROUCHO MARX: A Blind Date Can Be a Pig in a Poke Bonnet (from Memoirs of a Mangy Lover) DOUGLAS SUTHERLAND: The Gentleman at Home (from The English Gentleman) P.G. WODEHOUSE: 'The Great Sermon Handicap' (from The Inimitable Jeeves) GEORGE & WEEDON GROSSMITH: Diary of a Nobody (from Diary of a Nobody) ART BUCHWALD: My Favourite Tourists (from I Chose Caviar) IRIS MURDOCH: The sale of the Artemis (from The Flight from the Enchanter) ARTHUR MARSHALL: Take A Pew (from I'll Let You Know) JAMES THURBER: The Day the Dam Broke (from My Life and Hard Times) C. NORTHCOTE PARKINSON: Nonorigination (from In-laws and Outlaws) DOUGLAS ADAMS: April Showers (from So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish) JAMES THURBER: A Sequence of Servants (from My Life and Hard Times) JOHN MOLE: The Monogamist RUDYARD KIPLING: A Friend's Friend FRAN LEBOWITZ: Writing: A Life Sentence (from Metropolitan Life) PETER USTINOV: Schooldays (from Dear Me) PATRICK CAMPBELL: East is West PHYLLIS BENTLEY: At the Crossing (from More Tales of the West Riding) O. HENRY: Memoirs of a Yellow Dog BASIL BOOTHROYD: Coming to Grips (from Let's Move House) A.C. GAMES: The Concerns of Angus Daines ROBERT ROBINSON: The Middle-aged Philistine Abroad (from The Dog Chairman) SUE TOWNSEND: A New School Year (from The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole) GROUCHO MARX: Speed the Parting Guest (from Memoirs of a Mangy Lover) SAKI: The Secret Sin of Septimus Brope NEIL BOYD: One Sinner Who Will Not Repent (from A Father Before Christmas) DOUGLAS SUTHERLAND: The Gentleman and the Opposite Sex (from The English Gentleman) DAMON RUNYON: The Big Umbrella ROBERT ROBINSON: Our Betters (from The Dog Chairman) JOYCE GRENFELL: Antique Shop (from Turn Back the Clock) W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM: The Escape GEORGE S. KAUFMAN: School for Waiters ARTHUR MARSHALL: Cold Comfort Cottage (from I'll Let You Know) MAX APPLE: Carbo-loading (from Free Agents) ROB BUCKMAN: Gray's Anatomy in a Country Churchyard (from Jogging from Memory) BARRY PAIN: The Recitation ART BUCHWALD: Alone in No Man's Lapland (from I Chose Caviar) GERALD DURRELL: The Human Animal (from Encounters with Animals) E.F. BENSON: The Party (from Lucia's Progress) AUBERON WAUGH: Inflammable Nighties (from Consider the Lilies) DAVID NIVEN: 'The Emperor' (from Bring on the Empty Horses) G.K. CHESTERTON: The Singular Speculation of the House Agent (from The Club of Queer Trades) NANCY MITFORD: Castle Life (from Love in a Cold Climate) GEOFFREY WILLANS and RONALD SEARLE: How to Succeed as a New Bug (from How to be Topp) GERALD DURRELL: A Porcupine in the Parish (from Menagerie Manor) E.M. DELAFIELD: Foreign Climes (from The Provincial Lady Goes Further) JOHN VERNEY: Top of the Morning (from Verney Abroad)