For Ned, 1978 seems a blissful year. Handsome, popular, responsible, and a fine cricketer, life if progressing smoothly, if not effortlessly. When he meets Partia Fendeman his personal jigsaw appears complete. What if her left-wing parent despise his Tory MP father? Doesn't that just make them star-crossed lovers? And surely, in the end, won't the Fendemans be won over by their happiness? But of course, one person's happiness is another's jealous spite. And spite is about to change Ned's life forever. A promise made to a dying teacher and a vile trick played by fellow pupils rocket Ned from cricket captain to solitary confinement, from Head Boy to political prisoner. More than twenty years later, Ned returns to London, a very different man from the boy seized outside a Knights bridge language college. A man implacably focused on revenge, revenge is a dish he plans to savour and serve to those who conspired against him, and those who forgot him.

excellent!

I'm only vaguely familiar with the original Count Of Monte Cristo, but enough so that I enjoyed this retelling and some of the anagrams weren't lost on me. I loved the dialogue, particularly Ned/Simon's lines which are classic Stephen Fry.

I'd love to hear an unabridged reading of this book by the author.

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this book has a cracked spine but it is still quite readable with no loose pages.

sent today to FE - hope you enjoy it... :)

Came home from the Lifeline bookfest to find a lovely bag of books on my front doorstep! :)

I really, really enjoyed this black comedy. Fry is a very good writer - I love his way with words; he uses big words without sounding pretentious (unless that is exactly what he wants to sound like!). And the uber-violence is a nice distraction for when you're at work. lol.

Left on a bench.

NJABBIC, Sapphire.