Fowler's End

In the darkest, furthest corner of London is a bustling and squalid community built on deceit and despair- Fowlers End. To this wildly debased neighbourhood comes Daniel Laverock, a strong, proud, awesomely ugly young man in search of employment. Thanks to his horrifying physiognomy, which conceals the gentlest of hearts, he wins a job as manager of a movie houses. It is a flea pit, a vile retreat for predatory children, a place where thugs relax between felonies. Its owner, Sam Yudenow, is a sort of philosopher. At first Laverock is dazzled by Yudenow, by his splendidly garbled speech, his flawless depravity and his complete emancipation from decent instincts. But not for long. Soon he is leading a group seeking to overthrow the vicious tyrant. Fowlers End is one of the best comic novels of the twentieth century, a dark masterpiece filled with exuberant language and outrageous characters.