Items related to The Spoiler
There are two sides to every story.
Two women journalists - one old, one young, one a veteran war correspondent, the other a writer of celebrity gossip - meet for the first time. It is January 1997, the dying days of John Major's government, and newspapers, fighting for a dwindling readership, are plunging downmarket amid wild rumours that the internet is about to change the world for ever. Honor Tait (b. 1917), one of the most renowned journalists of her era, is haunted by her past; Tamara Sim (b. 1970), who compiles lists of what's in and what's out for Psst!, the weekend entertainment supplement of The Monitor, is struggling to secure her future, at any cost, in an increasingly precarious industry. When Sim is sent to interview Tait, their mutual incomprehension generates a rich seam of dark comedy. But when their different worlds finally collide, the consequences are devastating.
McAfee's trenchant first novel is part satire, part portrait of an era poised unknowingly on the brink of a technological revolution. New Labour is about to take over, newspapers are increasingly obsessed by the private lives of popstars, models and footballers, and Honor Tait and her kind are an endangered species. But is Tait really such a beacon of truth and integrity? And, as this darkly witty novel asks, is compassion the first casualty in the search for a good story?
Two women journalists - one old, one young, one a veteran war correspondent, the other a writer of celebrity gossip - meet for the first time. It is January 1997, the dying days of John Major's government, and newspapers, fighting for a dwindling readership, are plunging downmarket amid wild rumours that the internet is about to change the world for ever. Honor Tait (b. 1917), one of the most renowned journalists of her era, is haunted by her past; Tamara Sim (b. 1970), who compiles lists of what's in and what's out for Psst!, the weekend entertainment supplement of The Monitor, is struggling to secure her future, at any cost, in an increasingly precarious industry. When Sim is sent to interview Tait, their mutual incomprehension generates a rich seam of dark comedy. But when their different worlds finally collide, the consequences are devastating.
McAfee's trenchant first novel is part satire, part portrait of an era poised unknowingly on the brink of a technological revolution. New Labour is about to take over, newspapers are increasingly obsessed by the private lives of popstars, models and footballers, and Honor Tait and her kind are an endangered species. But is Tait really such a beacon of truth and integrity? And, as this darkly witty novel asks, is compassion the first casualty in the search for a good story?
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review:
`richly comic and entertaining' --Tatler
`tightly written and pacy. The central characters are believable, the setting exact, and one would defy the reader not to feel contained, held, by the professionalism and dexterity of the author.' --The Irish Times, Hilary Fannin
`a strikingly entertaining and accomplished novel' --Evening Standard, Sarah Sands
`a wily, insightful and engaging book...McAfee...has an excellent eye for detail and a wry comic touch.' --The Times, Sarah Vine
`McAffee is a superlative writer and plotter' --The Lady, May 2011
`Highly entertaining.' --Guardian
`When high meets lowbrow, comedy ensues, but McAfee's novel is not without serious intent. She deftly peels away her characters' pretensions, forcing readers to examine their own prejudices.' --The Scotsman
`Brilliant... It grips from the first with verbal polish and razor-sharp satire.' --Mail on Sunday
A `sparky tragicomedy' --Daily Mail
`Extremely funny and sharply observed' --The Independent
A `darkly funny but also a very timely read'
--Stylist
`A clever literary romp with flashes of Nancy Mitford and Helen Fielding...In the tradition of the best comic novels that lampoon journalism, it's a darkly, deliciously witty read.' --Independent on Sunday
`Sprightly satire' --Sunday Times
`A wide-ranging, energetic satire on what used to be called Fleet Street.' --Times Literary Supplement
`[The Spoiler] seizes the noble tradition of the Journalism Novel and rings some delightful changes on it.' --The Independent
`A clever satire, set in 1997, about the last days of Fleet Street... Darkly entertaining.'
--Red
`McAfee is a superlative writer and plotter...McAfee has produced a locus classicus of Fleet Street'
--The Lady
`I have received terrific word-of-mouth reports on Annalena McAfee's first novel'
--The Daily Telegraph
"The Spoiler is a cutting, hilarious portrait of British print journalism, epitomised by two contrasting women. ...an entirely human story the brilliantly re-creates and analyses the recent past." --The Times
"A wonderful satire about the newspaper world, set in 1997 just before New Labour came to power and when the internet was still in its infancy, this tells of a young gossip columnist who is sent by mistake to interview a world-weary veteran war correspondent. Fireworks ensue on every level."
--Sunday Express Magazine
`Those gripped by the escalating News International scandal might enjoy the latest newspaper novel Annalena McAfee's The Spoiler'
--Glasgow Herald
`authentic, entertaining and draws on her own experience as an arts journalist' --Daily Express
`The Spoiler - set in the halcyon days before phone hacking - was one of the funniest and sharpest fleet street novels in years.'
--Seven Magazine (Sunday Telegraph), David Robson, January 2012
Book Description:
`tightly written and pacy. The central characters are believable, the setting exact, and one would defy the reader not to feel contained, held, by the professionalism and dexterity of the author.' --The Irish Times, Hilary Fannin
`a strikingly entertaining and accomplished novel' --Evening Standard, Sarah Sands
`a wily, insightful and engaging book...McAfee...has an excellent eye for detail and a wry comic touch.' --The Times, Sarah Vine
`McAffee is a superlative writer and plotter' --The Lady, May 2011
`Highly entertaining.' --Guardian
`When high meets lowbrow, comedy ensues, but McAfee's novel is not without serious intent. She deftly peels away her characters' pretensions, forcing readers to examine their own prejudices.' --The Scotsman
`Brilliant... It grips from the first with verbal polish and razor-sharp satire.' --Mail on Sunday
A `sparky tragicomedy' --Daily Mail
`Extremely funny and sharply observed' --The Independent
A `darkly funny but also a very timely read'
--Stylist
`A clever literary romp with flashes of Nancy Mitford and Helen Fielding...In the tradition of the best comic novels that lampoon journalism, it's a darkly, deliciously witty read.' --Independent on Sunday
`Sprightly satire' --Sunday Times
`A wide-ranging, energetic satire on what used to be called Fleet Street.' --Times Literary Supplement
`[The Spoiler] seizes the noble tradition of the Journalism Novel and rings some delightful changes on it.' --The Independent
`A clever satire, set in 1997, about the last days of Fleet Street... Darkly entertaining.'
--Red
`McAfee is a superlative writer and plotter...McAfee has produced a locus classicus of Fleet Street'
--The Lady
`I have received terrific word-of-mouth reports on Annalena McAfee's first novel'
--The Daily Telegraph
"The Spoiler is a cutting, hilarious portrait of British print journalism, epitomised by two contrasting women. ...an entirely human story the brilliantly re-creates and analyses the recent past." --The Times
"A wonderful satire about the newspaper world, set in 1997 just before New Labour came to power and when the internet was still in its infancy, this tells of a young gossip columnist who is sent by mistake to interview a world-weary veteran war correspondent. Fireworks ensue on every level."
--Sunday Express Magazine
`Those gripped by the escalating News International scandal might enjoy the latest newspaper novel Annalena McAfee's The Spoiler'
--Glasgow Herald
`authentic, entertaining and draws on her own experience as an arts journalist' --Daily Express
`The Spoiler - set in the halcyon days before phone hacking - was one of the funniest and sharpest fleet street novels in years.'
--Seven Magazine (Sunday Telegraph), David Robson, January 2012
A savagely entertaining satire of a celebrity-obsessed newspaper industry where journalists will do anything for a story
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherUlverscroft Ltd
- Publication date2011
- ISBN 10 1444809075
- ISBN 13 9781444809077
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages456
- Rating
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Ulverscroft Large Print Books
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ISBN 10: 1444809075
ISBN 13: 9781444809077
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