These books are no longer in print, but occasional original, used and re-printed copies can be found for sale on the Internet.
FIRMLY BY THE TAIL (1976)
Original cover and author picture of FIRMLY BY THE TAIL
In 1976, P.N. Gwynne really did require anonymity....
Cover and author photo of re-printed version of FIRMLY BY THE TAIL
Photo taken by the author; dinner chez our hosts and sometime employees, the Baka pygmies, southwestern Central African Republic, 1972
The author has never actually worn a beard. This photo was taken after a 10-day stroll in the southwest Central African/Congo (Brazzaville) border area in 1972, which included shooting an elephant to feed the team of “road"-building pygmies and a near-”kinetic” encounter with a trigger-happy patrol of the Cuban Army.
FIRMLY BY THE TAIL by P. N. Gwynne (G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1976)
“Gwynne is funny and satiric, but there is a great deal of truth in his account. He has a fine feeling for the absurdity of things... A strange and unconventional book... Its strengths far outweigh the weaknesses. And some of it is deliriously funny.” – THE NEW YORK TIMES (Newgate Calendar)
“A punning, slangy, crazy giggle... Boozy whimsy...” – THE KIRKUS REVIEW
“Constructive it isn't, but who cares?” – THE WINDSOR STAR (Ontario, Canada)
“The subject is diamonds, the setting is the preposterous People's Republic of Malaria, and the hero is Bertie Wooster. That's right, Wodehouse's Bertie Wooster, but as he might have been conceived by Evelyn Waugh. The book isn't going to win the author a whole lot of friends, and it is simply too good to miss.” – THE NATIONAL OBSERVER (Washington, D.C. – which also included FIRMLY BY THE TAIL on its list of “Neglected Novels – Lots of Good Reads”, by L. J. Davis)
“This is a very naughty book. It'll also tickle your funny bone, tickle your sense of adventure and leave you smiling. It's a delightful spoof.” – THE EDMONTON JOURNAL (Canada)
“A great many of the book's scenes are knee-slappingly funny. And what makes it all the more entertaining is that there is more than a modicum of truth behind all this.” – FIGARO (New Orleans literary magazine)
“A good-humored and jaunty adventure-suspense epic. The characters are splendid.” – LIBRARY JOURNAL
“A cheeky lampoon of the big-heist, adventure-suspense epic. Being funny about what most thriller writers are serious is difficult. But P. N. Gwynne manages to move his story and cast madly enough to bring it off well.” – THE BUFFALO EVENING NEWS (New York)
“The funniest adventure in many a season. As a satire, it is sharp enough to cut the toughest nerve-ending. As a jolly silly adventure, it is equally superb.” – THE MARC DROGIN BOOK COLUMN
The author contemplating the prospect of writing FIRMLY BY THE TAIL, in his office in the Central African Republic, in 1973
And the author greeting guests, at home in the Central African Republic, 1973
PUSHKIN SHOVE (1984)
Same cover and author photos for both the original and re-printed versions of PUSHKIN SHOVE
PUSHKIN SHOVE by P. N.Gwynne (E. P. Dutton, 1984)
“The tale is rollicking, a sort of 'ANIMAL HOUSE' of the espionage genre, and the author's sensibility, however disturbing, is always expressed with wit. Mr. Gwynne can write.” – THE NEW YORK TIMES Book Review (8 April 1984)
“Few of this season's novels create laughter as consistently as P. N. Gwynne in his PUSHKIN SHOVE... The author has a sharp ear for accents and a quick eye for the ridiculous. James Bond might have written this, while laughing at himself.” – THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE (20 March 1984)
“Gwynne packs his Wodehouse-style novel with a very funny assortment of English, American and Russian types who speak in accurate, ingeniously spelled dialogue.” – PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (10 February 1984)
“Archly witty narration... sardonically brittle dialogue.” – KIRKUS REVIEWS (1 February 1984)
“Delightful spoof on espionage thrillers... a pleasant change of pace from the many serious spy novels currently on the market.” – BOOKLIST, the American Library Association (1 April 1984)
“Rated 'X', for both sex and for violence. No, you might rate it 'W' plus 'F', with 'F' standing for 'Farce' of 'Fun'... Imagine, if you will, the following joyously clustered about a now-almost empty wassail bowl: Robert Ludlum, Alistair MacLean, Jack Higgins, Ian Fleming, Desmond Bagley and Harold Robbins. Now imagine them merrily combining their talents to create a novel in British vernacular. PUSHKIN SHOVE is what you might get.” – THE ISLAND PACKET, Hilton Head, South Carolina (2 April 1984)
“A hilarious tale of glittery 'jet-set' madness, mayhem, espionage and intrigue by the author of FIRMLY BY THE TAIL.” – LIBRARY JOURNAL (30 April 1984)
“This rollicking novel is a perfect send-up of serious spy novels... the result is hysterical. PUSHKIN SHOVE is a giggle a page.” – THE OCALA STAR-BANNER, Ocala, Florida (27 May 1984)
The author writing PUSHKIN SHOVE in New York City, in 1983.
