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J. I. M. Stewart
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Myself and Michael Innes: A Memoir Hardcover – January 1, 1988

by J. I. M. Stewart (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 7 ratings
Offers a humorous, colorful account of an Oxford academic's coexistence with his alter ego, the author of detective novels, and provides an intimate look at his circle of Oxford-bred literary figures and friends
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  1. Print length
    206 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    W. W. Norton
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 1988
  5. Dimensions
    5 x 0.98 x 7.99 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0393025934
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0393025934
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A retired professor who has taught in Britain, Australia, Northern Ireland and America, James Stewart has written novels and books of literary criticism but is better known as Michael Innes, author of tales of mystery, adventure and detection. In this tantalizingly brief memoir of his boyhood in Edinburgh, student years at Oxford and teaching experiences, he presents anecdotes and vignettes about mentors, associates, neighbors and acquaintances but tells very little about his personal life, his wife and five children. That he also includes a radio script, a short story and a scanty excursus on the detective story will hardly satisfy admirers of this clever, witty novelist. Photos.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Like a television special that offers behind-the-scenes glimpses of the making of a successful movie, this book offers insight into Stewart's works. Stewart, who writes novels under his own name and detective stories under the pseudonym of Michael Innes, has built a following through clever, quick-paced stories full of wry humor and literary references. And it is really to this following that he directs this smooth-flowing, no-frills tour of his life, which stops occasionally for an anecdote or the genesis of a story idea and then quickly moves ahead. Anecdotes like those about Thomas Hardy's funeral or Stewart's meeting with T.S. Eliot salvage the book for the uninitiated; otherwise, its appeal is to Stewart's already established audience. Martin J. Hudacs, Towanda H.S., Pa.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton; First Edition (January 1, 1988)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 206 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393025934
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393025934
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.98 x 7.99 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 7 ratings

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J. I. M. Stewart

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4.1 out of 5 stars
7 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Emily
    2.0 out of 5 stars Sad
    Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    I was disappointed in this book. Although Mr. Innes' elegant use of language is as good as ever, the book is too much the maunderings of an old man. It made me sad. If you're an autobiography nut it may appeal to you more.
    4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • James Brydon
    4.0 out of 5 stars A great inisght into the dual life of novelist Michael Innes and academic J I M Stewart.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 12, 2019
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    It is very nearly forty years since I started listing the books that I read, and the running total is now over 4,600. To identify an all-time favourite would, therefore, be very difficult, and even whittling down a small selection that might sustain me in a Desert Island Discs scenario would be a significant challenge. One’s list of top ten or even top fifty books is a very nebulous concept, and a selection I arrive at today is likely to differ significantly from the corresponding choice I might make tomorrow or the day after.

    One book that could certainly be depended upon to feature in almost any selection of my top ten, regardless of my mood on any given day, would be Young Pattullo, by J I M Stewart. I find myself re-reading this book every two or three years, and it never ceases to entertain and delight. It actually represents the second volume in A Staircase in Surrey, a series of five novels by Stewart recounting the experiences of Duncan Pattullo who returns to his old Oxford college some twenty-odd years after he graduated and finds himself being absorbed back into the fold and appointed as a Fellow.

    Much of J I M Stewart’s early life mirrors that of Duncan Pattullo. Born and educated in Edinburgh on the fringes of the middle class, he too secured a scholarship to Oxford, where he studied English. There, perhaps, the principal similarities end, and Stewarts chose to remain in academia, securing teaching posts at universities in Leeds, Adelaide and Belfast, before returning to Oxford where he subsequently became Professor of English Literature.

    These academic endeavours were not, however, the only string to his bow. While Duncan Pattullo’s post-Oxford career had seen him establish himself as a successful playwright, with three plays running simultaneously in the West End as The Gaudy, first instalment of A Staircase in Surrey opens, Stewart chose a different creative route. Under his own name, and also as Michael Innes (two of his middle names), he wrote more than fifty novels, including the prolific series of crime stories featuring John (later Sir John) Appleby, an unorthodox policeman who rose from detective Inspector in his first outing to become Commission of the Metropolitan Force. These novels proved immensely popular, both because of the enigmatic character of Appleby and the unconventional quirkiness of their plots.

    I found this volume of memoirs both entertaining and frustrating. There were plenty of anecdotes that illuminated some incidents from the novels. On the other hand, as with John le Carre’s very entertaining memoirs, The Pigeon Tunnel, Stewart pulls off the dexterous feat of holding the reader’s attention while giving away surprisingly little about himself.
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  • Nigel C.B. Durrant
    5.0 out of 5 stars Myself and Michael Innes (J.I.M. Stewart)
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 21, 2015
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    Myself and Michael Innes (J.I.M. Stewart)

    Described by the author as A Memoir, J.I.M. Stewart’s Myself and Michael Innes is a concatenation of anecdotes autobiographical, amusing and curious, such as he thinks others will find interesting. Two complete samples of his œuvre happily complete the little opus – a radio play, Mr. W.H. and his own favourite short story, Sweets from a Stranger, a sort of latter-day morality set in his native Lowland Scotland complete with references to a poke of jujubes and Writers to the Signet.
    My introduction to the author came when I picked up his book The Gaudy; this must have been about the time it was first published. Halfway through I had the rest of A Staircase in Surrey series sent from England and read the whole series straight through (though I fancy I had to wait for Full circle to be published). Some of the episodes in Staircase (and other of his books) are to be found in this memoir but the brunt was new to me.
    The reader will seek in vain for anything approaching the full life-story of the author but will find amongst other goodies an interesting exposé of the development of ‘Michael Innes’ who, of course, shares more with J.I.M. Stewart than just his second name.
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  • oxfab
    4.0 out of 5 stars a good read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 4, 2021
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    the authors varied life
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  • J. B. Swingler
    5.0 out of 5 stars An endearing author
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 19, 2009
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    An academic all his life, Mr Stewart was a family man who must have been well liked; he spent years in Australia and clearly got on well over there as well as in various universities in this country. His detective books have a touch of fantasy about them, they are not police types; we go on strange journeys and meet odd people in these tales. Perhaps his best work, written late in life, was the 5 volume set with the overall title 'A Staircase in Surrey'. His own story of his life shows him to have been a warm unpretentious man.
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  • christine mason sutherland
    4.0 out of 5 stars I had hoped for more details.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 15, 2017
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    Interesting account, but not as explicit as I had hoped.
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