Wilt (novel)


Wilt is a comedic novel by Tom Sharpe, first published by Secker and Warburg in 1976. Later editions were published by Pan Books, and Overlook TP. The novel was a bestseller. Its success led to the author writing several sequels.

Plot introduction

Henry Wilt is a demoralized and professionally under-rated assistant lecturer who teaches literature to uninterested construction apprentices at a community college in the south of England. Years of henpecking and harassment by his physically powerful but emotionally immature wife Eva leave him with dreams of killing her in various gruesome ways. But a string of unfortunate events start Henry on a farcical journey. Along the way he finds humiliation and chaos, which ultimately lead him to discover his own strengths and some level of dignity. All the while he is pursued by the tenacious police inspector Flint, whose plodding skills of detection and deduction interpret Wilt's often bizarre actions as heinous crimes.

Characters

Tom Sharpe wrote several sequels and additional works featuring Henry Wilt: