Top

Starter For Ten

On sale

1st March 2004

Price: £8.99

Select a format

Selected: ebook / ISBN-13: 9781848943995

Disclosure: If you buy products using the retailer buttons above, we may earn a commission from the retailers you visit.

***Out now: David Nicholls’s new novel YOU ARE HERE***


THE DEBUT NOVEL BY BELOVED BESTSELLER DAVID NICHOLLS


A comedy about love, class, growing up and the all-important difference between knowledge and wisdom


‘Painfully funny’
ELLE

‘Hugely entertaining’
DAILY MAIL

‘Wincingly good’
TIME OUT

‘Unrivalled’
GLAMOUR

‘I laughed a lot’
JEREMY PAXMAN

It’s 1985 and Brian Jackson has arrived at university with a burning ambition – to make it onto TV’s foremost general knowledge quiz. But no sooner has he embarked on ‘The Challenge’ than he finds himself falling hopelessly in love with his teammate, the beautiful and charismatic would-be actress Alice Harbinson.

When Alice fails to fall for his slightly over-eager charms, Brian comes up with a foolproof plan to capture her heart once and for all: he’s going to win the game, at any cost. Because – after all – everyone knows that what a woman really wants from a man is a comprehensive grasp of general knowledge . . .


ONE OF BRITAIN’S MOST ACCLAIMED WRITERS


‘One of the most astute chroniclers of England as it is now’
FINANCIAL TIMES

‘An uncanny ability to make us laugh out loud, but also care passionately about his characters’
DAILY TELEGRAPH

‘Nicholls writes with such tender precision about love’
THE TIMES

‘No one else writes novels that are both relatable and revelatory in the way he does’
EVENING STANDARD

‘Genuinely brilliant’
NEW STATESMAN

Reviews

<i>Jack</i>
Moving, wickedly observed, warm, uplifting and above all blindingly funny... Read this book
<i>Company</i>
Toe-curlingly embarrassing and cleverly observed... it'll have you wincing and laughing simultaneously. Fabulous
<i>Heat</i>
A bittersweet coming-of-age tale ... A fine, funny book
<i>Independent</i>
Nicholls' portrayal of student affectations is accurate and funny ... clever and well-written
Time Out
Spry, affecting debut ... If it's possible to wince with your whole body, that broadly equates to my experience of reading it
OK
Hilarious ... you won't be able to put it down
Elle
Painfully funny
Daily Mirror
Warm and funny ... Hilarious
She
Hugely (and deservedly) hyped ... Achingly funny
Mike Bullen, creator of 'Cold Feet'
I laughed out loud, I cringed in recognition, and more than once I paused in admiration at an observation so wry, so on the money, I wondered why it had never occurred to me before. There have been many pretenders to the throne of Hornby; David Nicholls is his legitimate heir
Glamour
For conjuring up all those cringeworthy moments of youth, this read is unrivalled
Mil Millington
Relentlessly delightful
Jenny Colgan, author of Amanda's Wedding
Absolutely fabulous ... brilliantly funny
The Word
Wonderfully written ... This is a lovely look back at a time when you were young enough to think that anything could happen
Anna Maxted, author of Getting Over It
What a delight... David Nicholls is enormously talented, he has an exquisite eye for details, humour and the ridiculous and he deserves every ounce of the huge success he will undoubtedly have with this pleasure of a book
Emily Barr, author of Backpack
I absolutely loved Starter for Ten
New Woman
I adored "The Understudy". It's a fantastic comedy ... delightfully written and makes you realise that even though some people are always cast as second best, that doesn't mean they're never winners.
Maria Beaumont on David Nicholls
A comic genius
Jeremy Paxman on STARTER FOR TEN
I laughed a lot
<i>Jack</i> on STARTER FOR TEN
Moving, wickedly observed, warm, uplifting and above all blindingly funny, Starter for Ten hits the spot time after time. Read this book
<i>Daily Mail</i>
A zippy comedy with laugh-out-loud lines, grounded on a solid plot and first-rate dialogue...irresistible
<i>Arena</i>
Trust us, you'll love it
<i>Jack</i>
Moving, wickedly observed, warm, uplifting and above all blindingly funny... Read this book
<i>Company</i>
Toe-curlingly embarrassing and cleverly observed... it'll have you wincing and laughing simultaneously. Fabulous
<i>Heat</i>
A bittersweet coming-of-age tale ... A fine, funny book
<i>Independent</i>
Nicholls' portrayal of student affectations is accurate and funny ... clever and well-written
Time Out
Spry, affecting debut ... If it's possible to wince with your whole body, that broadly equates to my experience of reading it
OK
Hilarious ... you won't be able to put it down
Elle
Painfully funny
Daily Mirror
Warm and funny ... Hilarious
She
Hugely (and deservedly) hyped ... Achingly funny
Mike Bullen, creator of 'Cold Feet'
I laughed out loud, I cringed in recognition, and more than once I paused in admiration at an observation so wry, so on the money, I wondered why it had never occurred to me before. There have been many pretenders to the throne of Hornby; David Nicholls is his legitimate heir
Glamour
For conjuring up all those cringeworthy moments of youth, this read is unrivalled
Mil Millington
Relentlessly delightful
Jenny Colgan, author of Amanda's Wedding
Absolutely fabulous ... brilliantly funny
The Word
Wonderfully written ... This is a lovely look back at a time when you were young enough to think that anything could happen
Anna Maxted, author of Getting Over It
What a delight... David Nicholls is enormously talented, he has an exquisite eye for details, humour and the ridiculous and he deserves every ounce of the huge success he will undoubtedly have with this pleasure of a book
Emily Barr, author of Backpack
I absolutely loved Starter for Ten
New Woman
I adored "The Understudy". It's a fantastic comedy ... delightfully written and makes you realise that even though some people are always cast as second best, that doesn't mean they're never winners.
Jeremy Paxman on STARTER FOR TEN
I laughed a lot
<i>Jack</i> on STARTER FOR TEN
Moving, wickedly observed, warm, uplifting and above all blindingly funny, Starter for Ten hits the spot time after time. Read this book
<i>Daily Mail</i>
A zippy comedy with laugh-out-loud lines, grounded on a solid plot and first-rate dialogue...irresistible
Arena
Starter for Ten is the debut of the year; a recommendation repeated by all who come in contact with it . . . Trust us, you'll love it
Independent
Clever and well-written . . . Nicholls' portrayal of student affectations is accurate and funny
Sunday Mirror
A funny, touching novel reminiscent of the classic film Gregory's Girl with an authentic 1980s backdrop
Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan
Brilliant . . . we would recommend it to anyone
Guardian
Nicholls delineates the whole university experience . . . But he does the serious bits well, too, and the fatherless teenager pulling himself up by his bootstraps, hopelessly out of his depth, is warmly evoked
Company
Toe-curlingly embarrassing and cleverly observed . . . it'll have you wincing and laughing simultaneously. Fabulous
Heat
A bittersweet coming-of-age tale . . . A fine, funny book
Time Out
Wincingly good . . . spry, affecting
OK
Hilarious . . . you won't be able to put it down
Elle
Painfully funny
Daily Mirror
Warm and funny . . . hilarious
She
Hugely (and deservedly) hyped . . . Achingly funny
Mike Bullen, creator of COLD FEET
I laughed out loud, I cringed in recognition, and more than once I paused in admiration at an observation so wry, so on the money, I wondered why it had never occurred to me before
Glamour
For conjuring up all those cringeworthy moments of youth, this read is unrivalled
Mil Millington, author of THINGS MY GIRLFRIEND AND I HAVE ARGUED ABOUT
Relentlessly delightful
Jenny Colgan, author of DO YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME?
Absolutely fabulous . . . brilliantly funny
Word
Wonderfully written . . . This is a lovely look back at a time when you were young enough to think that anything could happen
Anna Maxted, author of GETTING OVER IT
What a delight . . . David Nicholls is enormously talented, he has an exquisite eye for details, humour and the ridiculous
Emily Barr, author of THE ONE MEMORY OF FLORA BANKS
I absolutely loved Starter for Ten
Jeremy Paxman
I laughed a lot
Jack
Moving, wickedly observed, warm, uplifting and above all blindingly funny, Starter for Ten hits the spot time after time. Read this book
Daily Mail
Hugely entertaining
Critics' choice, Northern Echo
Brilliant . . . made me blush with remembered agonies [of university life]
Irish Independent
Highly engaging
Herald
This funny tale . . . will have you laughing out loud
Hello
Wonderful . . . Nicholls recreates all the cringingly embarrassing moments students endure on the university bandwagon - the wild parties, tentative friendships and romantic interludes - with superb powers of characterisation. It's a fun-filled trip down memory lane for all students, with more than a touch of pathos
Alan Cumming
I feel for Starter for Ten as I do for the pick'n'mix counter: nostalgic, giddy, happy, sick and then devastated when there is none left. I could not put this book down. I love it. Literally