The Liar (novel)

The Liar
First edition cover
AuthorStephen Fry
LanguageEnglish
GenreNovel
Set inEngland, 1972–1980
PublisherWilliam Heinemann
Publication date
September 1991
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages240 pp (first edition, hardback)
ISBN0-434-27191-8 (first edition, hardback) & ISBN 0-7493-0540-1 (paperback edition)
OCLC59891543
823.914
LC ClassPR6056 .R88

The Liar (published 1991) is the first novel of British writer and actor Stephen Fry. The story is told out of chronological order but mostly follows the upper-class Englishman Adrian Healey through his years at public school, at Cambridge University, and afterwards. He excels at lying and entire chapters are later revealed to have been fictions. He ultimately ends up teaching at Cambridge as part of an old boys' club in British intelligence, which alleviates its boredom during the decline of the empire and end of the Cold War by partaking in make-believe espionage missions.