Half in Love

by Justin Cartwright

QPD, Hodder and Stoughton, 2000, paperback

Very Good Condition, a little edge and shelf wear, a little rubbing and bumping to edges and corners, age toned edges, no inscriptions (see photographs)

“Richard McAllister, a young minister in the government, has temporarily left eh Cabinet while recovering from being stabbed by a thug at a football match.  He has decided, while recuperating, to go to South Africa to write an account of the horse in the Boer War.  He sees a thread connecting him to these events, a theme which provides a rich opportunity for an examination of past experience and present sensibilities.
While Mafeking, he is called back to London because his passionate affair with a married actress, Joanna Jermyn, has been revealed.  Her recent film has made her famous and the press are determined to make much of this story.
The Prime Minister, his close friend, asks Richard if there is any connection between his apparently random stabbing and the affair.
From that moment the love affair becomes almost impossibly fraught.  The press hound the lovers, the government spin doctors try to suppress all news and Joanna’s husband becomes very vindictive.  The lovers are parted, and Joanna goes to America.
This is a novel about contemporary politics, the power of film, the nature of history and above all about two people caught hopelessly in love, subject to the stresses of fame and scandal.  It is an exceptional achievement.”