Head of State: The Bestselling Brexit Thriller
POWER.CORRUPTION.CONSPIRACY.BUSINESS AS USUAL.Two corpses. A country on the edge of a political precipice. A conspiracy so bold it would make Machiavelli wince.The first novel from Britain’s most celebrated political commentator is a gleefully twisted take on what goes on behind the door of 10 Downing Street.Andrew Marr’s first novel is a darkly comic tale of murder and skulduggery, played out at the very heart of Downing Street against the backdrop of a crucial, once-in-a-generation referendum.Making full use of his unrivalled inside knowledge of the British political scene, Marr has created a sparkling entertainment, a wholly original depiction of Westminster and its denizens, and a fascinating, irreverent glimpse behind the parliamentary curtain.
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Fourth Estate
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by Fourth Estate in 2014
Copyright © Andrew Marr and the Chadlington Consultancy Ltd. 2014
The right of Andrew Marr and the Chadlington Consultancy Ltd. to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988
The characters, businesses and events portrayed in this book are entirely fictional. Any resemblance between them and real individuals, businesses or events is coincidental and should not be inferred.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN: 9780007591923
Ebook Edition © 2014 ISBN: 9780007591930
Version: 2015-06-02
‘In Marr’s novel, full-blown farce and well-salted insider gossip edge into a sharper, if not wholly serious, look around the darker corners of the UK state. The Machiavellian melodrama of House of Cards veers into The Thick of It, and then off into the shadows where fixers out of John Le Carré lurk … [An] energetic romp … bursting with mischief, zest and coded gossip’
Independent
‘There are the flowing passages and telling phrases that one would expect from such an accomplished writer … the jokes are excellent and the inner workings of government (and, I’m sure, the media) are described with complete accuracy’
Guardian
‘Andrew Marr is a marvel … what makes Head of State worth reading is that it is Marr unbuttoned … witty and wicked’
New Statesman
‘A darkly comic Westminster thriller with lashings of corruption, murder and sex’
Daily Mail
‘The characterisation is excellent … There are few shrewder observers of Westminster and Fleet Street than Marr, and his deft touch is apparent throughout’
Sunday Telegraph
For Harry Cameron Marr
This book came about in an unusual way. I had long wanted to write a political satire that would help to lift the lid on how aspects of government and the media really worked in a way that’s not possible in conventional journalism. Meanwhile Peter Chadlington, a member of the distinguished political Gummer family, had long had a notion for the plot of a novel centred on an explosive secret at the very heart of government. We were introduced through my agent, Ed Victor, and Peter described his idea to me. We subsequently met, and talked through the possibilities and tone of the book. I then wrote the novel, which was expertly edited first by Philippa Harrison, a legend in the trade, and then at Fourth Estate by Robert Lacey, another.
So I owe Lord Chadlington an enormous debt as the originator of the idea on which the whole plot of the novel revolves. He has also been kind in introducing me to certain political and financial figures who have helped ensure that the detail is as accurate as it’s possible to be. However, it’s fair to say that, left to himself, Peter would certainly have written a very different book. He may not approve of or agree with everything which has emerged; and he cannot be held in any way responsible for my private feuds, jokes and idiosyncrasies. Some of the characters and stories in the novel are derived directly from my thirty years as a political reporter, though of course almost everything here is fictional.
Andrew Marr
April 2014
For the last fifty years, two of my abiding passions have been politics and the art of political persuasion. The basic idea behind this novel has been in my mind for much of that time. Andrew Marr has singlehandedly turned it into a political entertainment with verve and satire. Without him it would still just be swirling about in my head.
Some may read the following pages and declare the story too fanciful – ‘It could never happen.’ But we should remember that much of what we take today as ‘normal’ political behaviour would have been considered unthinkable fifty – or even twenty – years ago. Today, almost anything seems politically possible.
As Andrew has mentioned, the writing of this novel has been greatly helped by the advice of politicians and financiers, and also by access to several institutions – including Number 10 Downing Street – to ensure that the settings are as accurate as possible.
Peter Chadlington
April 2014
Contents
Copyright
Praise
Dedication
Author’s Note
Foreword
1. Monday, 18 September: Referendum Day Minus Three
Cock of the Walk
