Peter Pook

Who was Peter Pook?

John Anthony Miller, better known by his pseudonym Peter Pook, was a British author of humorous novels.

Writing between 1960 and 1980, Peter Pook produced a series of twenty-three "autobiographical" novels in which the real events of his life were mingled with fanciful situations, and Pook himself is presented as an amiable dunderhead who is taken advantage of at every turn. After the first book in the series, 'Banking on Form', every subsequent volume has Pook's name in the title: 'Pook in Boots', 'Pook in Business', 'Pook Sahib', etc.

Recurring themes in the books are Pook's obsession with physical culture and sport, his military career in the Royal Marines, overseas travels, his ambition to be an actor and his own writing career. The earlier books are totally light-hearted, though in some of the later works, particularly those depicting the war years, occasional glimpses of grim reality break in.

Ironically, after twenty-three volumes of autobiography, Pook's real name and real life history remained well-kept secrets. Peter Pook died suddenly on 8 September 1978.