The wonderfully entertaining new novel from bestselling author of The Fall and Rise of Reggie Perrin.

Long-time Potherthwaite resident Sally Mottram cannot stand the decline of her town. The bookshop is about to close, abandoned buildings line the canal and Potherthwaite’s residents seem stuck in a disheartened rut. Something has to be done, but what? And who will do it?

When an unexpected tragedy shatters Sally’s life, she bravely takes on the task herself. Supported by a group of locals, including thrice-married Marigold Boyce-Willoughby, who is forever looking for love, and married couple Jill and Arnold Buss, who might both be falling for their new neighbours, Sally embarks on her ambition to bring the town back to life. But can one woman rally a whole community to save itself?

David Nobbs’ much-anticipated new novel is a hilarious, heartwarming tale about what keeps our community spirits alive.

Praise for THE FALL AND RISE OF GORDON COPPINGER:

‘Brilliant writing from a comic master, I loved it’ Rob Brydon

‘Pitch-perfect comedy, terrific social satire, excellent writing and a regular supply of cracking jokes – this is David Nobbs on superb form’ DAILY MAIL

Praise for David Nobbs:

‘We should be thankful for the continuing brilliance of David Nobbs’ MAIL ON SUNDAY

‘A delicious entertainment, as comic and sharp as they come’ GUARDIAN

‘Probably our finest post-war comic novelist’ Jonathan Coe

David Nobbs’s first break as a comedy writer came on the iconic satire show That Was The Week, That Was, hosted by David Frost. Later he wrote for The Frost Report and The Two Ronnies and provided material for many top comedians including Les Dawson, Ken Dodd, Tommy Cooper, Frankie Howerd and Dick Emery. Apart from his twenty novels, David is best known for his two TV hit series A Bit of a Do and for The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. David Nobbs died in 2015 at the age of eighty.