Fawlty Towers A Worshipper's Companion is quite a unique book, in terms of Fawlty Towers reference material. In it you won't find catalogue numbers for every Fawlty Towers record ever released or the name of the actor who played a particular character. What the author has done is blend together various elements; fact and fiction, myth and analysis, to build an interesting and entertaining read.

The first chapter is a set of biographies of the main characters of the show, but in this case we are witnessing their lives before they arrive at Fawlty Towers. Obviously this is mostly new material, but it does neatly explain some of the characters obsessions and personalities, such as the Major's obsession with newspaper. To do this the author has taken some liberties with the characters, which may not be to everyone's liking, or indeed to everyone's own imagined background for the characters.

The next chapter tackles Basil's phobias and neuroses. Illustrated with examples from the show the author categorises all Basil's hang-ups with class, money and sex etc. This works well as it identifies many recurring themes across all twelve episodes, which the casual viewer may miss.

The third chapter introduces us to the bane of Basil's existence, namely the guests and visitors, with some observations and facts on some of the more interesting visitors to Fawlty Towers, which again the casual viewer may miss.

The following chapter provides a guide to some of the more obscure names and references that appear in Fawlty Towers. As far as I know, this has not been attempted either in print or on the internet, and I am sure many will appreciate this chapter, who either by virtue of youth or being on the wrong side of the Atlantic, have missed the significance (or not) of these references.

The least said about the fifth chapter, on the occult significance of Fawlty Towers the better. For me it does not fit in well with the rest of the book, and I can't help getting the impression that the author has been reading too many 'New Age' books!

Chapter six and seven provide safer ground, being much more factual and giving a history of the show and it's making. Although the story has been told many times before, it is presented in an interesting manner and well worth reading, for a few gems of information that may have been missed in the past.

The eighth and final chapter is perhaps the best and worst of all. Here the author tells the sorry off and presents in full the missing thirteenth episode. Your opinion of this chapter will depend on whether you accept this as the genuine article or not. Either way, you should be able to read the script for pure entertainment value.

As a whole, the book treads a fine balance between fact and fiction, taking liberties with the Fawlty Towers story and it players. Whether you like it or not depends on whether you can accept someone else taking over where John Cleese and Connie Booth left off (or never started in the case of pre-Fawlty Towers material). Many people I am sure would prefer Fawlty Towers to be left as was originally intended, never to be interfered with, except with the express permission of Cleese and Booth.