Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Card For The Clubs | 1974 | Les Dawson | Buy |
| 2 | The Spy Who Came… | 1976 | Les Dawson | Buy |
| 3 | Hitler Was My Mother In Law | 1984 | Les Dawson | Buy |
| 4 | A Time Before Genesis | 1987 | Les Dawson | Buy |
| 5 | Come Back with the Wind | 1990 | Les Dawson | Buy |
| 6 | Well Fared, My Lovely | 1992 | Les Dawson | Buy |
| 7 | The Blade and the Passion | 1995 | Les Dawson | Buy |
Les Dawson’s novels are a surprise to readers who know him only as a comedian. They show real range: A Card For The Clubs (1974) is a comic crime caper, The Spy Who Came… (1976) is a spy spoof, and Hitler Was My Mother In Law (1984) takes on World War Two from a comic angle. A Time Before Genesis (1987) ventures into science fiction territory.
His later novels lean toward parody. Well Fared, My Lovely (1992) is an unabashed Raymond Chandler pastiche set in a northern English context, and Come Back with the Wind (1990) takes the title of the American classic and replaces its setting with the North-South divide in England. The Blade and the Passion (1995), published two years after his death, is historical fiction with a more serious register.
The novels are out of print and harder to find than his joke books, but they reward readers who want to see what Dawson could do beyond the stage.