Michael Dobbs, author of House of Cards, returns to the drama and scandal of Westminsterâs corridors of power. Ginny is the wife of an Opposition MP and is entirely content with her life, but when she overhears gossip of her husbandâs affair, it is a shattering blow. She decides that there is only one way to stop being a perpetual victim of the system and that is to become its master. She wonât stop until she is the wife of the Prime Minister. But Ginny will discover that there is a high price to pay for pushing her husband to the very top…
This time the king maker is a woman, Virginia Edge. Knowledge is power and she gleans it from the Other Half Club, a lunching group for Opposition parliamentary wives, and the gay network at Westminster. This is the story of her transformation from dutiful political wife to masterful manipulator of the entire political process at Westminster.
Michael Dobbs’ first novel, House of Cards, launched the career of the villainous Francis Urquhart, one of the most memorable fictional characters of recent years, who was immortalized by Ian Richardson in three award-winning BBC TV series. His books have foretold the downfall of Prime Ministers and the growing turmoil within the Royal Family. His recent novels, featuring Tom Goodfellowe, are Goodfellowe MP, The Buddha of Brewer Street, and Whispers of Betrayal, which with eerie prescience ahead of September 11th told of how a small group of trained and motivated people could hold an entire city to ransom.
For more than two decades Michael Dobbs has been at the right hand of political controversy. He 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. His experiences have led him to be described as ‘Westminster’s baby-faced hit man’ and ‘a man who, in Latin America, would have been shot’.
His highly acclaimed recent book, Winston’s War, was a novel about the extraordinary relationship between Winston Churchill, Neville Chamberlain and the young Soviet spy, Guy Burgess. It was shortlisted for the Channel 4 Political Book of the Year Award and is to be made into a feature film.
He was both Chief of Staff and Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party and has a doctorate in defence studies. He has also been Deputy Chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi and a regular presenter of BBC TV’s ‘Despatch Box’.
