Yes, Unseen Academicals is ‘the one with the football’ but it is so much more than that. Pratchett’s extraordinary ability to find new heights and depths to his universe was not dimmed by the fact that he was at this point 37 books into the series and that he was using very familiar characters and settings. His power to reinvent Discworld, and Ankh-Morpork in particular, here rests not on his principal theme, football, but on his exploration of the servant underclass that previously has been largely silent. Almost all the characters we have met thus far have been either fairly high-status – lords, ladies, wizards, guild leaders, etc, – or from the criminal underworld (sometimes both of course), but rarely ordinary working people.

The wizards of the Unseen University face disaster – they will lose a significant endowment unless (for reasons that are somewhat contrived) they play a game of football. The loss of income will restrict them to only three meals a day, an unthinkable deprivation, so the game is afoot. Flimsy though this reason is for introducing sport to that most unsporting of environments, the further complication is that Ankh-Morpork football is nothing like the sport we know today, and much closer in spirit to the medieval village game where everyone takes part, the ball is a wooden block covered in rags, and violence is a key part of any match. It becomes clear that the rules will need to be updated to make this more a gentleman’s sport, where the risk of decapitation and death are reduced and where a winner can eventually be determined.

Previously we have been introduced to a few of the higher status servants that keep the Unseen University running, but here for what I think is the first time we actually go into the kitchens and cellars where all the work is done, and are introduced to the people who do it. A key part of keeping the lights on is, well, keeping the lights on, and at the Unseen University all candles must be expertly dribbled for the right medieval aesthetic effect. The university’s master dribbler is Mr Nutt. Mr Nutt, we are told, is a goblin recently arrived from Uberwald. Parts of the story are told through Mr Nutt’s internal narration, and it becomes clear that he has a secret, hidden to even himself. He is extremely intelligent, physically hugely powerful, and constantly suppressing what seems dangerous instincts and dark, violent impulses. At first he is hidden away in the cellars, but the Arch- Chancellor is aware of his presence there, as is Lord Vetenari.

Mr Nutt starts to explore the working class culture of his friend and colleague Trev Likely. Trev has only one obsession – football. They go to a game and see up close the dangers of the rampant football hooliganism which appears to lead to Mr Nutt being killed, only for him to spring back alive before treatment can even begin at the Lady Sybil hospital. (Of the many things I loved about this novel, the way Sam Vimes and his good lady wife have become part of the language and culture of Ankh-Morpork was both touching and wonderful). At the same time we are also introduced to two of the staff who work in the University’s night-kitchens. Glenda Sugarbean bakes the best pies in Ankh-Morpork and is observant and intelligent. Her kitchen-maid friend Juliet yearns for more than can be found in the boring life below stairs.

Like many stories of working class life, the main theme here is escape. Juliet’s transcendent beauty allow her to go on to become a catwalk model of the new dwarven material, micromail; Trev’s skills with a tin can, a substitute football, win the Unseen Academicals a key game, and Nutt – well Nutt comes to terms with his dark secret, which is that he is an orc. This is the first time orcs have been mentioned in the Discworld series. They are fabled creatures, thought long-extinct, and utterly terrifying. While they are recognisably the creatures of Tolkien’s creation, there is a Discworld twist – they were bred by men as creatures of war, and their inner nature is peaceful and artistic. Mr Nutt writes love poetry, and yearns to be a valuable member of society. His relationship with Glenda blossoms into the most unlikely of romances, until finally he is asked to try to discover any surviving members of his species and re-introduce them to society. If trolls and vampires can live amongst men, why not orcs?

“Many bad things were done under the Evil Empire” she said. “The best we can do now is undo them. Will you assist in this endeavor?”
“In every way that I can” said Nutt.
“I would like you to teach them civilized behavior,” said Ladyship coldly.
He appeared to consider this. “Yes, of course, I think, that would be quite possible,” he said. “And who would you send to teach the humans?”
There was a brief outburst of laughter from Vetinari, who immediately cupped his hand over his mouth. “Oh I do beg your pardon,” he said.”

Unseen Academicals is a joy. Pratchett’s trademark silly jokes still abound – one of the wizards is on exchange from a distant university and is called Bengo Macarona – unsurprisingly he is brilliant at football. As always, the game of spot the reference is rewarding. Pratchett wears his learning lightly, and some lines are almost thrown away. One example is a version of the couplet from Andrew Marvell’s To His Coy Mistress , (summarised (if not dismissed) earlier in the novel along with all other love poetry as “as a means to an end, to wit, getting a young lady to take all her clothes off.”)

“The grave’s a fine and private place,
But none, I think, do there embrace.”

Which comes out as:

“The crypt’s a handsome place to be, But none, I think leave after tea”

Most obviously Trev and Juliet’s whole storyline is a Ankh-Morpork version of Romeo and Juliet, lovers from two bitterly divided families, fanatical supporters of opposing football teams, but at the same time and rather brilliantly Juliet’s story is also that of both Pygmalion and A Star is Born, a beautiful young woman transformed into a supermodel. Mr Nutt’s unusual training techniques – he takes his team to the ballet, and has them practicising blindfold – also reminded me of How Steeple Sinderby Wanders Won the FA Cup. Someone has done a fantastic job of collecting all these references in one spot at https://wiki.lspace.org/mediawiki/Book:Unseen_Academicals/Annotations but don’t spoil the fun and look them up first. The references are often easy to miss but there is a certain satisfaction to be gained from spotting them unassisted.

Ankh-Morpork is changing. Technology is threatening old ways, and in a most striking illustration of the new times one of the wizards of the Unseen University, the Dean, has taken a job in another university as their Vice-Chancellor, an unheard of move that Ridcully sees as a betrayal. It is probably just because I know that the series was to end after four more novels, but I saw a slight sadness in this event, a recognition that all good things must end. Like this review,