51st State

by Peter Preston

Inspired by the patriotism of his dying father, Rupert Warner uses his position to lead England out of the EC, and almost accidentally into the United States. Even more accidentally, he finds himself running for the Vice-Presidency, and who knows where that might lead.

Genres: Fiction, Novels

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Peter John Preston is a British journalist and author. He was educated at Loughborough Grammar School and St John's College, Oxford, where he edited the student paper Cherwell. He has received honorary degrees from the City University, London and the University of Leicester (2003).

He joined The Guardian in 1963 and was editor for twenty years, from 1975 to 1995. He continues as a prolific columnist addressing a wide range of political and social issues, also contributing a weekly column devoted mainly to news about newspapers, their readers and (generally) diminishing circulations in The Observer's "business and media" section. He was a member of the Scott Trust from 1979 to 2003, Chairman of the International Press Institute from 1995 to 1997, and Chairman of the Association of British Press Editors.

He is perhaps best known for the investigative reporting into Conservative MPs, including the perjurious Jonathan Aitken and brown-envelope-receiving Neil Hamilton and Tim Smith, begun while he was editor of The Guardian.

Reviews

[Conor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting concept, badly executed.

A confusing and unnecessarily large cast of secondary characters, who are generally shallow and poorly developed.

The general thrust of the plot struggles to hold the reader's attention, hamstrung by the inevitable romance between Polly and David.

What should be a cutting parody of the political machine ends up as an dull narrative set to a political background.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book when I first read it but it turns out to have been weirdly prophetic in light of Brexit. The plot is different but the results are the same - Britain leaves the EU with no plan with horrendous economic consequences.