Banking on Form was so funny people said, that they
daren't read it in public places—but Pook in Boots is
even funnier!
Leaving the Bank, Pook continues his aggressive
career in the Royal Marines, where he mixes with earls
and orphans—leading them all cheerfully to perdition,
willingly aided by the smallest Marine on record, the
Hon. Lesley Pilkington-Goldberg.
Opposing Pook and his dislike of discipline is that
magnificent character Sergeant Canyon—fifteen stone
of bad-tempered Saxon warrior—whose epic encounter
with Pook in the Unarmed Combat Class is
still remembered with awe by those who saw it.
Running through the story is the love-interest of
Pook's girl-friends—unexpectedly connected with his
celebrated inter-Service bout with the notorious
Bandsman Bangle, which is described here for the first
time. Because, as Pook remarks, "any fool can read a
love yarn but it takes grit to read this type of literature."
We meet the shrewdest tactician of them all in
Lieutenant Tudor—late house-detective at a London
hotel—whose fondness for the ladies is second only
to his skill in battle. What happens to Pook during the
disastrous Exercise Seaweed, followed by the
extraordinary Passing Out Parade and a hilarious party
in the West End night-club, will confirm his position
as the biggest laughter-raiser in the business.
Colonel Tank sums up wisely when he observes:
"Sometimes I wonder if I'm C.O. of a crack fighting
regiment or the manager of a West End hotel for spies."