LAURENCE COOPER
Laurence's short fiction has won or been listed for awards including the Bridport Prize and Fish Publishing Prize. He has an MA in Creative Writing from Goldsmiths where he was also a governor. Past novels include George Valentine's Retirement Plan and Death On The Mekong. Previously an actor, puppeteer, barrister, and head of a top London PR agency, he lives in South London.
SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL (Published 29 JUNE 2026) - AUTHOR'S NOTE
At university I devoured satirical novels, the darkly funny ones, from Tom Sharpe and Douglas Adams, to Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller and beyond. In the '80s it was Tom Wolfe, who remains a hero. There was something about reading satire that allowed me to laugh as well as protest at the absurdity and injustices of our times. Then it seemed TV took over with Spitting Image and later The Thick of It. You can still find it on radio but the satirical novel is a rarity. Maybe tastes changed, or the world became too absurd to satirise. Or maybe social media has made everyone a satirist. Whatever, I miss them.
After watching yet another celebrity scandal unfold and a chance viewing of the classic English comedy School for Scoundrels, I was inspired to write my own. I hope you will enjoy reading School for Scandal as much as I did writing it.
At university I devoured satirical novels, the darkly funny ones, from Tom Sharpe and Douglas Adams, to Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller and beyond. In the '80s it was Tom Wolfe, who remains a hero. There was something about reading satire that allowed me to laugh as well as protest at the absurdity and injustices of our times. Then it seemed TV took over with Spitting Image and later The Thick of It. You can still find it on radio but the satirical novel is a rarity. Maybe tastes changed, or the world became too absurd to satirise. Or maybe social media has made everyone a satirist. Whatever, I miss them.
After watching yet another celebrity scandal unfold and a chance viewing of the classic English comedy School for Scoundrels, I was inspired to write my own. I hope you will enjoy reading School for Scandal as much as I did writing it.
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