First published 1985
G. F. H. Shadbold has built his reputation as a British literary celebrity on shaky ground. He knows he lacks real talent and lives in constant dread that others will discover the truth. Years ago at college, he seduced his friend Cedric Winterwade, who later wrote a novel nearly as poor as Shadbold's own work. When Winterwade dies in military service, his forgotten book begins gaining attention while Shadbold's writing remains overlooked. The situation worsens when Winterwade's private journal comes to light. Shadbold panics, assuming it will expose their sexual relationship. But the journal reveals something different: Winterwade's affair with a woman Shadbold had loved. During a television interview with the scandalous Rod Cubbage, Isolde Upjohn Abdullah arrives at precisely the wrong moment. The confrontation strips away Shadbold's carefully constructed facade, revealing him to his wife and the viewing public as the anxious fraud he has always been.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, british-literature, academic
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Period: 20th Century
136 pages · Paperback · Plume