Albert Angelo
1964 novel by B. S. Johnson
Albert Angelo may also refer to the former mayor of Vancouver, Washington.
Albert Angelo is the second novel written by the experimental novelist B. S. Johnson (1933–1973). Published in 1964 by Constable (and reissued in 1987 by New Directions), the book achieved fame for having holes cut in several pages as a narrative technique. It is written in an unusual and pioneering style, frequently changing from first-person narrative to third-person commentary, and often descending into stream-of-consciousness interior monologue. Like many of Johnson's novels it is an autobiographical work.
Plot
Albert Angelo tells the story of Albert Angelo, a substitute teacher who longs to be a professional architect. He has had to resort to teaching to make ends meet, as he is not an accomplished enough architect to make a living from it. Living in a flat in Angel in London, he finds himself teaching in increasingly tougher schools, and part of the story concerns his struggle with difficult pupils in class, mirroring Albert's struggle with life in general. Through the reproduction of some of their essays, we also learn the pupils' opinions of Albert and their attitudes towards him, which are often hilarious.
Albert devotes much thought to his ex-girlfriend Jenny, with whom he is still very much in love and who he feels betrayed him.
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Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4709639. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1933, 1973, 1964 and 1987.
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This entry incorporates text from “Albert Angelo” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.