Fuggles the Inebriate

The The novel is set in the 'out of the way' village of Widdleton-in-the Bog somewhere in the middle of England. Received wisdom suggests that the settlement was established in the 5th century by a Saxon Chieftain with the unfortunate appellation of Snot. Today, the most prominent building in the village is the edifice known as the Old Hall - formerly the ancestral seat of the illustrious Fuggles dynasty. The last remaining scion of that venerable family is Josiah Fuggles who, through...
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The The novel is set in the 'out of the way' village of Widdleton-in-the Bog somewhere in the middle of England. Received wisdom suggests that the settlement was established in the 5th century by a Saxon Chieftain with the unfortunate appellation of Snot. Today, the most prominent building in the village is the edifice known as the Old Hall - formerly the ancestral seat of the illustrious Fuggles dynasty. The last remaining scion of that venerable family is Josiah Fuggles who, through mysterious circumstances has been reduced to living in a modest but comfortable cottage, on a small but adequate allowance. Fuggles, an educated man, spends most of his time drinking with his friends in the many vernacular pubs of the village. He never tires of flaunting the wealth of his wisdom and learning - his listeners frequently do. Their quest is to extend and synchronize their patronage of the local hostelries in the hope of preventing the pub closures that have blighted so many other communities. Fuggles possesses neither a television nor a computer nor a mobile telephone. It is not that these technologies have passed him by, but rather that his innate wisdom spares him from any distraction from his idyllic lifestyle. However, in spite of this Elysian existence, he is an unfulfilled man. He is only too aware that, compared to his eminent forebears, he has achieved nothing. Increasingly, he realizes that engaging solely in bar-room banter and drinking does not do justice to his 'prodigious' intellect. So that when an opportunity is presented to him to renew a link with the Old Hall and to spend time recording the history and heritage of his family and the village for posterity, he is moved to embrace it. But will this be at the cost of his friendship with his loyal drinking friends and his love of the village pubs? This is a dilemma that only a man of Fuggles' integrity and sagacity can reconcile. In the course of the narrative, he experiences the pleasures and perils of streaking, snuff taking, craft ale, conceptual art, a beer festival, whisky drinking, town pubs, bicycle riding, gin drinking, long distance walking, sea fishing, a wedding, a brewery visit, pub games, a very bad winter, a brew pub, village cricket and a 'gentlemen' night. During these adventures, he encounters a love-sick brewer, a 'thin' publican, a mortal enemy, a pig man, a yellow haired lady, a bee keeper, a meandering man, a beautiful barmaid, an angler, an unexpected half brother, a badger, a fox, a cat, a dog, a stoat and an imaginary owl. Such is the variety of life in Widdleton-in-the-Bog.