Synopsis

At the venerable and rigidly traditional Porterhouse College, a bastion of archaic customs and a sanctuary for elderly, indolent fellows, the sudden death of the Master precipitates a seismic shift. His progressive, American-educated successor, Sir Godber Evans, arrives with a revolutionary agenda: to modernize the college, introduce women, abolish the notoriously extravagant and unhealthy 'Porterhouse Blue' dinner, and, most shocking of all, provide condoms to undergraduates. This audacious assault on centuries of ingrained tradition ignites a fierce, often farcical, battle between the new Master and the entrenched, eccentric fellows, led by the wily Skullion, the Senior Tutor. As Skullion and his allies devise increasingly desperate and ludicrous schemes to sabotage Sir Godber's reforms, the clash of cultures escalates into a hilarious and ultimately catastrophic war for the soul of Porterhouse, exposing the absurdity of institutional inertia and the darkly comedic consequences of progress clashing with profound resistance.

Critical Reception

"Tom Sharpe's 'Porterhouse Blue' stands as a quintessential masterpiece of British academic satire, lauded for its savage wit and relentless skewering of institutional folly."

Adaptations

Six-hour PBS television miniseries adaptation.

Metadata

ISBN:9780871132796
Pages:228
Age Rating:16+

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