Books by Alan Hackney

After an undistinguished career at Oxford, Stanley Windrush wanders from one escapade to another in the world of paid employment. The unwitting cause of an international furore in his indefinable role at the Foreign Office, he soon loses more jobs in the world of industry. He swiftly decides to take up a post as an unskilled worker - to be 'one of the chaps that reap the benefit', as his uncle advises - where his na,ve dealings with the trade unions only cause more trouble for everyone.Originally released in 1958 as Private Life, the follow-up to Private's Progress, the novel was swiftly made into a popular film, I'm All Right Jack.'Funny, critical and good-tempered, all at the same time and apparently without the slightest effort.' The Times'Wonderfully funny.' Sunday Express'Brilliantly funny.' Manchester Evening News'Extremely funny.' Manchester Guardian

Alan Hackney's first novel, Private's Progress tells the story of the hapless Stanley Windrush. Called up in 1942 after his first year at Oxford, and despite his best efforts to avoid any kind of work or action, Stanley wanders from one mishap to the next, causing mayhem and meeting a host of unscrupulous characters along the way. First published in 1954, Private's Progress was later made into a Boulting Brothers' film of the same name, and is the prequel to I'm All Right Jack, also published by Faber Finds.