Product Description

Michael Dobbs' popular new character Tom Goodfellowe, the crumpled backbench MP, makes his debut and takes on the might of the press in this highly acclaimed novel of power and corruption -- now reissued in a new cover style. INTO AN AGE CRYING OUT FOR NEW LEADERS STUMBLES THE MOST UNLIKELY POLITICAL HERO OF ALL. Tom Goodfellowe is not like other MPs. His private life is a mess, his love life is abysmal, he has an overdraft and a drink-driving conviction. He also has a talent for getting into trouble. He lives in London's Chinatown, and when he is asked to help a young Chinese girl, he has no idea he's heading into conflict with the Prime Minister, the police and the press -- particularly Freddy Corsa, a newspaper proprietor who sets out to ruin Goodfellowe financially, politically and sexually. Goodfellowe is one man against the system, and he is about to be destroyed in tomorrow's newspaper.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #411620 in Books
• Published on: 2002-11-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Review
'Goodfellowe is a modern political hero with all the welcome weaknesses we expect! The fun (and there's plenty of it) comes from watching honest Tom struggling with his own frailties and battling against the massed ranks of base politicians and a debased media. Michael Dobbs does for Westminster skulduggery what Agatha Christie did for the country house murder. He knows what we like and he knows how to spin a rattling good yarn.' Sunday Express 'Splendid, as good as anything Dobbs has done.' Sunday Telegraph 'Eventful and entertaining! a truly exciting Mounties-to-the-rescue climax.' Daily Telegraph

About the Author
Michael Dobbs was at Mrs Thatcher's side as she took her first step into Downing Street as Prime Minister, and was a key aide to John Major when he was voted out. In between times he was bombed in Brighton, banished from Chequers and blamed for failing to secure a Blair-Major television debate. He is now one of the country's leading political commentators.

Customer Reviews

An enjoyable tale of conscience, parliament and the press
Why is it that so many current protagonists are middle aged, paunchy, and have domestic problems? Goodfellowe MP (both the character and the book) is less self-pitying, and therefore more sympathetic, than most. If you choose to take this as an entertainment, then the tribulations of Thomas Goodfellowe when the wicked press-baron drives him between the rock of family loyalties and the hard place of his conscience are intriguing and enjoyable. But if this is a documentary it goes to prove Winston Churchill's adage that you should not watch either laws or sausages being made. And if it IS a documentary, you will never want to vote or buy a newspaper again. But of course it isn't documentary, it is fiction, so that's OK. Turn the pages, and enjoy it.

Top Notch
If you liked House of Cards etc, this is one for you. A hopeless hero, and full of political shenanigans, it brings the world of Westminster to life.

Just fiction? Who knows!

Cliched characters
The story line is an age old classic - honourable man runs into corrupt opponent and fights to maintain his integrity in an increasingly hostile world. In this case the honourable guy is Tom Goodfellowe MP, disgraced former minister. His opponent is press baron, Freddy Corsa, driven, powerful and entirely without conscience. Corsa's empire is in desperate need of funds but to get investors a press bill allowing anonymous owners of the press has to be passed. Corsa needs the bill desperately and will stop at nothing - bribery, blackmail, all the usual tricks - to get it through. Goodfellowe, on the standing committee discussing the bill, becomes part of Corsa's designs.

This was supposed to be an insider's view of the internal workings of parliament and the compromises that are made when noble democracy runs up against hard business reality but no part of it rang true. The problem is all the characters were so badly written that none of them were remotely believable. All the women were blatant archetypes from a male fantasy of the ideal woman - the rebellious daughter who had always adored her father because of the nobility she saw in him, the enthusiastic admirer happy to sit and listen attentively for hours without reciprocation, the eager lowly assistant undertaking any task to perfection whether in the job description or not, the successful business woman becoming slavering sex partner at the site of a deal. Talking of sex, the dialogue during the sex scenes was genuinely laugh out loud funny, just because of the absurdity of it.

I wouldn't recommend this book. I just found it tiresome and annoying.