If anyone had told me I would find a novel about British
politics utterly fascinating, I would have told them they
were crazy! However, I recently picked up a second-hand
copy of Archer's "First Among Equals", and am finding it
hard to put down. But....

As a USAian, I know next to nothing about the mechanics of
UK politics, and the author blends actual historical
characters in with his fictional ones so skillfully that I'm
not sure what's real and what's fiction. The book was
copyright in 1984, and the story line runs from 1964 through
1991, so obviously many of the events MUST be products of
the author's imagination, but I'm not quite sure where fact
ends and fiction begins, in his portrayal of events for the
years that had already passed when the book was written.

If any of our UK posters has read the book, could you
perhaps enlighten me? (E-mail will be fine, if you don't
want to clutter up the newsgroup with off-topic material.)
Thanks.

Evelyn

EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) <[email protected]> wrote:

[]
> As a USAian, I know next to nothing about the mechanics of
> UK politics, and the author blends actual historical
> characters in with his fictional ones so skillfully that I'm
> not sure what's real and what's fiction.

Oddly, that's a problem which has affected Archer throughout his life!

I've never read his books so can't help on that front...

--
(*) ... of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate
http://www.davidhorne.net - real address on website
"Abominable, loyal, blind, apparently subservient."
Pres. Carter on Ex-Pres. Blair- May, 2007

On Sat, 28 Jul 2007 20:31:19 +0100, [email protected] (David Horne) wrote:

>EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>[]
>> As a USAian, I know next to nothing about the mechanics of
>> UK politics, and the author blends actual historical
>> characters in with his fictional ones so skillfully that I'm
>> not sure what's real and what's fiction.
>
>Oddly, that's a problem which has affected Archer throughout his life!

LOL Good one!

>
>I've never read his books so can't help on that front...

and even we had all read them from cover to cover ten times and sniffed his
fragrant missus we wouldn't admit it.
--

Martin

On Sat, 28 Jul 2007 12:01:04 -0700, "EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>If anyone had told me I would find a novel about British
>politics utterly fascinating, I would have told them they
>were crazy! However, I recently picked up a second-hand
>copy of Archer's "First Among Equals", and am finding it
>hard to put down. But....

..Evelyn you are crazy!
--

Martin

Martin <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Sat, 28 Jul 2007 20:31:19 +0100, [email protected] (David Horne) wrote:
>
> >EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> >[]
> >> As a USAian, I know next to nothing about the mechanics of
> >> UK politics, and the author blends actual historical
> >> characters in with his fictional ones so skillfully that I'm
> >> not sure what's real and what's fiction.
> >
> >Oddly, that's a problem which has affected Archer throughout his life!
>
> LOL Good one!
>
> >
> >I've never read his books so can't help on that front...
>
> and even we had all read them from cover to cover ten times and sniffed his
> fragrant missus we wouldn't admit it.

I'd read his books as a holiday read- just never got round to it!

--
(*) ... of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate
http://www.davidhorne.net - real address on website
"Abominable, loyal, blind, apparently subservient."
Pres. Carter on Ex-Pres. Blair- May, 2007

On Sat, 28 Jul 2007 22:30:39 +0100, [email protected] (David Horne) wrote:

>Martin <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> On Sat, 28 Jul 2007 20:31:19 +0100, [email protected] (David Horne) wrote:
>>
>> >EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) <[email protected]> wrote:
>> >
>> >[]
>> >> As a USAian, I know next to nothing about the mechanics of
>> >> UK politics, and the author blends actual historical
>> >> characters in with his fictional ones so skillfully that I'm
>> >> not sure what's real and what's fiction.
>> >
>> >Oddly, that's a problem which has affected Archer throughout his life!
>>
>> LOL Good one!
>>
>> >
>> >I've never read his books so can't help on that front...
>>
>> and even we had all read them from cover to cover ten times and sniffed his
>> fragrant missus we wouldn't admit it.
>
>I'd read his books as a holiday read- just never got round to it!

I never tried. I recall that he started his writing career as a bankrupt
property developer wanting to earn a quick buck, take note Mixi. This doesn't
inspire confidence in his writing skills.
--

Martin

> If anyone had told me I would find a novel about British
> politics utterly fascinating, I would have told them they
> were crazy! However, I recently picked up a second-hand
> copy of Archer's "First Among Equals", and am finding it
> hard to put down. But....
>
> As a USAian, I know next to nothing about the mechanics of
> UK politics, and the author blends actual historical
> characters in with his fictional ones so skillfully that
> I'm not sure what's real and what's fiction. The book was
> copyright in 1984, and the story line runs from 1964 through
> 1991, so obviously many of the events MUST be products of
> the author's imagination, but I'm not quite sure where fact
> ends and fiction begins, in his portrayal of events for the
> years that had already passed when the book was written.

Archer's books have all been mostly ghostwritten. He can barely
string a written sentence together. But he was well enough
embedded in the inner circle of Thatcher's corruption and sleaze
that he probably had some actuality tips to pass on to the ghost.

============== j-c ====== @ ====== purr . demon . co . uk =============Jack Campin: 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland | tel 0131 660 4760
<http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/> for CD-ROMs and free | fax 0870 0554 975
stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, & Mac logic fonts | mob 07800 739 557

David Horne wrote:

> I'd read his books as a holiday read- just never got round to it!

That's more or less what I'm doing - except that since I
bacame a full-time retiree, most EVERY day is available for
a "holiday read"! There's a limit to how long I can sit in
front of a computer screen, American TV sucks, and I need
something to occupy my time (especially with the average
outdoor temperature hovering between 100F and 110F in
Arizona). Fortunately I've discovered the local Goodwill
store (similar to your Oxfam, I think), where I can buy used
paperbacks for about $1 each.

EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) <[email protected]> wrote:

> David Horne wrote:
>
> > I'd read his books as a holiday read- just never got round to it!
>
> That's more or less what I'm doing - except that since I
> bacame a full-time retiree, most EVERY day is available for
> a "holiday read"! There's a limit to how long I can sit in
> front of a computer screen, American TV sucks, and I need
> something to occupy my time (especially with the average
> outdoor temperature hovering between 100F and 110F in
> Arizona). Fortunately I've discovered the local Goodwill
> store (similar to your Oxfam, I think), where I can buy used
> paperbacks for about $1 each.

If you feel there's a lot of time, maybe think about spending some of it
trying something new, or more adventurous. Why not start writing music?

--
(*) ... of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate
http://www.davidhorne.net - real address on website
"Abominable, loyal, blind, apparently subservient."
Pres. Carter on Ex-Pres. Blair- May, 2007

Martin wrote:

> On Sat, 28 Jul 2007 22:30:39 +0100, [email protected] (David Horne) wrote:
>
>
>>Martin <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>On Sat, 28 Jul 2007 20:31:19 +0100, [email protected] (David Horne) wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>[]
>>>>
>>>>>As a USAian, I know next to nothing about the mechanics of
>>>>>UK politics, and the author blends actual historical
>>>>>characters in with his fictional ones so skillfully that I'm
>>>>>not sure what's real and what's fiction.
>>>>
>>>>Oddly, that's a problem which has affected Archer throughout his life!
>>>
>>>LOL Good one!
>>>
>>>
>>>>I've never read his books so can't help on that front...
>>>
>>>and even we had all read them from cover to cover ten times and sniffed his
>>>fragrant missus we wouldn't admit it.
>>
>>I'd read his books as a holiday read- just never got round to it!
>
>
> I never tried. I recall that he started his writing career as a bankrupt
> property developer wanting to earn a quick buck, take note Mixi. This doesn't
> inspire confidence in his writing skills.

Actually, he writes rather well - not great literature, of
course, but the subject novel is providing a couple of days
diversion. (I might prefer a mystery by Elizabeth George or
P.D. James, but prolific though their output may be, I read
a lot faster than they can write them!)

David Horne wrote:

> EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>David Horne wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I'd read his books as a holiday read- just never got round to it!
>>
>>That's more or less what I'm doing - except that since I
>>bacame a full-time retiree, most EVERY day is available for
>>a "holiday read"! There's a limit to how long I can sit in
>>front of a computer screen, American TV sucks, and I need
>>something to occupy my time (especially with the average
>>outdoor temperature hovering between 100F and 110F in
>>Arizona). Fortunately I've discovered the local Goodwill
>>store (similar to your Oxfam, I think), where I can buy used
>>paperbacks for about $1 each.
>
>
> If you feel there's a lot of time, maybe think about spending some of it
> trying something new, or more adventurous. Why not start writing music?

Been there, done that (I took a composition seminar in
college, when the creative impulses were stronger). If I
had been an instrumentalist, I might have a better grasp of
composing techniques, but as a singer, even when I tried
writing songs, my accompaniments were seldom more than
supporting chords. (I thought I had a gift for melody, but
in retrospect, that was all pretty derivative, too.) Some
of us are creative, some aren't.

EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) wrote:

> David Horne wrote:
>
> > I'd read his books as a holiday read- just never got round to it!
>
> That's more or less what I'm doing - except that since I
> bacame a full-time retiree, most EVERY day is available for
> a "holiday read"! There's a limit to how long I can sit in
> front of a computer screen, American TV sucks,


Don't you at least get TCM (Turner Classic Movies) at your place? If you
are a movie buff it's a godsend...I could easily spend whole days watching
it if I had the time. In fact I'd gladly still spend the $80.00 per month
for cable if it was the *only* channel I received...


--
Best
Greg

"I am smarter than you think I am"
- Maryanne "Loafhead" Kehoe to me
in alt.gossip.celebrities

On Sun, 29 Jul 2007 01:08:30 +0100, [email protected] (David Horne) wrote:

>EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> David Horne wrote:
>>
>> > I'd read his books as a holiday read- just never got round to it!

I read this to mean using poor phonetics - I'd reid his books not I'd red his
books. Evelyn thought you meant red/read.

>>
>> That's more or less what I'm doing - except that since I
>> bacame a full-time retiree, most EVERY day is available for
>> a "holiday read"! There's a limit to how long I can sit in
>> front of a computer screen, American TV sucks, and I need
>> something to occupy my time (especially with the average
>> outdoor temperature hovering between 100F and 110F in
>> Arizona). Fortunately I've discovered the local Goodwill
>> store (similar to your Oxfam, I think), where I can buy used
>> paperbacks for about $1 each.
>
>If you feel there's a lot of time, maybe think about spending some of it
>trying something new, or more adventurous. Why not start writing music?

or first master playing music on an organ :-)
--

Martin

On Sun, 29 Jul 2007 00:51:07 +0100, Jack Campin - bogus address
<[email protected]> wrote:

>> If anyone had told me I would find a novel about British
>> politics utterly fascinating, I would have told them they
>> were crazy! However, I recently picked up a second-hand
>> copy of Archer's "First Among Equals", and am finding it
>> hard to put down. But....
>>
>> As a USAian, I know next to nothing about the mechanics of
>> UK politics, and the author blends actual historical
>> characters in with his fictional ones so skillfully that
>> I'm not sure what's real and what's fiction. The book was
>> copyright in 1984, and the story line runs from 1964 through
>> 1991, so obviously many of the events MUST be products of
>> the author's imagination, but I'm not quite sure where fact
>> ends and fiction begins, in his portrayal of events for the
>> years that had already passed when the book was written.
>
>Archer's books have all been mostly ghostwritten.

Sounds in keeping, but is it really true?

>He can barely
>string a written sentence together. But he was well enough
>embedded in the inner circle of Thatcher's corruption and sleaze
>that he probably had some actuality tips to pass on to the ghost.
--

Martin

"Martin" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sun, 29 Jul 2007 00:51:07 +0100, Jack Campin - bogus address
> <[email protected]> wrote:

>>Archer's books have all been mostly ghostwritten.
>
> Sounds in keeping, but is it really true?
>
Doubtful.

Even Private Eye accepts that he writes them himself.

--
William Black


I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Barbeques on fire by the chalets past the castle headland
I watched the gift shops glitter in the darkness off the Newborough gate
All these moments will be lost in time, like icecream on the beach
Time for tea.