timebug Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 (edited) Any members familiar with the rogue antique dealer,other than via the diluted TV adventures? I am a huge fan of the original books, and have read them many times. In publication order they are: Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 01 - The Judas Pair Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 02 - Gold From GeminiJonathan Gash - Lovejoy 03 - The Grail Tree Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 04 - Spend GameJonathan Gash - Lovejoy 05 - The Vatican RipJonathan Gash - Lovejoy 06 - Firefly GadroonJonathan Gash - Lovejoy 07 - The Sleepers of ErinJonathan Gash - Lovejoy 08 - The Gondola ScamJonathan Gash - Lovejoy 09 - PearlhangerJonathan Gash - Lovejoy 10 - The Tartan Ringers Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 11 - MoonspenderJonathan Gash - Lovejoy 12 - Jade WomanJonathan Gash - Lovejoy 13 - The Very Last GambadoJonathan Gash - Lovejoy 14 - The Great California GameJonathan Gash - Lovejoy 15 - The Lies of Fair Ladies Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 16 - Paid and Loving EyesJonathan Gash - Lovejoy 17 - The Sin Within Her Smile Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 18 - The Grace in Older Women Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 19 - The Possessions of a LadyJonathan Gash - Lovejoy 20 - The Rich and the Profane Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 21 - A Rag, a Bone and a Hank of Hair Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 22 - Every Last CentJonathan Gash - Lovejoy 23 - Ten Word Game Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 24 - Faces in the Pool I first read one after the TV show had been running for a while. I suppose I expected them to be just like the TV version, and I was certainly wrong! Ian McShane who played Lovejoy, in an early interview on TV, had explained that the character had had to be sanitised for general sunday night viewing. Certainly true. In the books, Lovejoy is a ''divvy' he can sense if an antique is genuine,merely by being near to it. He is also a conman, a thief, a forger,and (due to circimstance, per novel) a killer. A womaniser without moral scruple, and not above the act of violence towards the female of the species either. Not at all the cleaned up ,loveable rogue of the TV series. The books are all narrated in the first person, by Lovejoy, and the voice of the story teller is at once captivating,by the turns of phrase used,and impressive by the great depth and love of the antiques he deals with, craves,often steals (Borrows,as he generally puts it) and becomes embroiled with. Tinker Dill exists in most of the stories, but not the dandy gent who likes a tipple as shown onscreen.No, this old reprobate is a fully fledged alcoholic, given to sleeping in church porches and bus shelters. We learn,as readers,that the younger Lovejoy was 'discovered' by the then middle aged Tinker,and taught to use his gift of divination, to 'divvy' antiques and make a living. Lady Jane Felsham is sort of in the books; except that she is plain 'Jane Felsham' (No title) and is a rival dealer in two or three of the novels. Eric Catchpole does not exist in book form.There IS a biker,who is amiable,gormless and slow on the uptake, in some of the earlier books. His name is Algernon! Lovejoy goes from being penniless and down and out (often!) to being quite well set up and comfortable,then back again. If you like a good crime based tale, with lashings of black humour thrown in,and a great deal of background on antiques, give the books a try. My only caveat would be,that if you love the TV series, after the books, you may find it hard to get back into viewing the former! Especially after meeting a young lady,who starts life as Lovejoy's apprentice,and goes on to altogether greater heights! Edited November 20, 2015 by timebug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 I was a great fan of the TV series and vaguely feel I may have read one or two of his books because some of the details seem familiar, particularly Tinker being a drunken reprobate. Glad you enjoyed them so much, but sometimes when the mismatch between book and TV are too great, it's best to stick with one or the other to save throwing things Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timebug Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 I know what you mean,but I managed to avoid the TV series during my reading of the majority of the books.Then the TV series ended and the books kept coming! So it was an easy choice ,for me,and I prefer and will stick with,the books! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bel-ami Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 I watched the TV series 'back in the day' and have relatively recently started reading the books - have just finished the Spend Game. I can't helpful visualising Ian McShane as Lovejoy, albeit as a much rougher version than the TV version. Doling out a black eye to a lady isn't exactly the way to appeal to the modern reader, but that aside, I enjoy the books and will keep going through the list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louise56 Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 The books came as a bit of a surprise to me, having seen the Tv version first, Lovejoy being so different than he is in the Tv series. he is a more interesting and less cuddly figure in the books, which can be quite brutal at times. wildly unpc the way he clouts the women in his life, would he get away with writing him like that nowadays? i doubt it. i did find myself wondering though why he is always so poverty stricken - he's supposed to be a divvy and a brilliant forger, so why doesn't he ever make any money at it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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