Harry Palmer

Harry Palmer is a very funny look at the escapades of a juvenile delinquent, which have more down-to-earth explanations than the outlandish stories about a "magical boy" you may have heard. Pretending to have an interest in magic is how Harry ingratiates himself with a senile old headmaster, whose interest in witchcraft blinds him to what Harry's really up to. Rather than Quidditch (lolwut?), the school is mad for polo, but Harry isn't the star of his house's team. The closest he gets to the action is when he bets on the games. Scheming Harry is surrounded by other memorable characters, including the puny, conniving, and animal-hating groundskeeper, Haggard; Drake Mollify, a straight-shooting boy with a critical father he can't seem to please, and Drake's two close friends. Denis Crumbe and Geoffrey Galle are small and shy but have acerbic wits (they like word-play and puns). Their sarcasm is a trait they share with Professor Snide, housemaster of Serpentine. All of them offer wry commentary on Harry and the thuggish Juan Walsey and Juan's older twin brothers, the school bullies and Drake's main polo rivals. Then there's Perdita Grungy, who seeks approval from her peers by trying to be seductive and worldly, although she usually ends up falling flat on her face and looking very un-sexy. This parody is spot-on and hilarious. You've heard the tall tales told by Harry to a sympathetic (but gullible) best-selling author. Now here's the real story, told by the victims of his pranks.