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Thomas Goodfellowe #1
Goodfellowe MP
FROM THE CREATOR Or FRANCIS URQUHART, THE MOST MEMORABLE POLITICIAN OF THE LAST DECADE COMES A NEW POLITICAL HEROThomas Goodfellowe is far from an ordinary MP. He has an overdraft and an absent wife. A tormented daughter and a troublesome constituency. A sensational secretary and a drink-driving conviction.He lives in London's Chinatown, and when he is called on to help a young Chinese girl, he has no idea that he will fall foul of the Prime Minister, the police and the press - particularly Freddy Corsa, a desperate newspaper proprietor, who sets out to ruin Goodfellowe - financially, politically and sexually.Goodfellowe is one man against the system, and he is about to be destroyed in tomorrow's newspaper.
254 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1997
56 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
About the author
Michael Dobbs
109 books367 followersMichael Dobbs was born on the same day, in the same hour as Prince Charles in 1948.
He is the son of nurseryman Eric and his wife Eileen Dobbs and was educated at Hertford Grammar School and Christ Church, Oxford University. After graduating in 1971 he moved to the United States.
In the USA he attended the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, which he funded by a job as feature writer for the Boston Globe, where he worked as an editorial assistant and political feature writer from 1971 to 1975.
He graduated in 1975 with an M.A., M.A.L.D., and PhD in nuclear defence studies. His doctoral thesis was published as SALT on the Dragon's Tail. In 2007 he returned to Tufts where he gave the Alumni Salutation.
After gaining his PhD he returned to England and began working in London for the Conservative Party. He was an advisor to the then leader of the Opposition, Margaret Thatcher, from 1977 to 1979 and from 1979 to 1981 he was a Conservative MP speechwriter.
He served as a Government Special Advisor from 1981 to 1986 and he survived the Brighton Bombing in 1984 at the Conservative Party Conference. He was the Conservative Party Chief of Staff from 1986 to 1987.
He was considered a masterful political operator and was called "Westminster’s baby-faced hit man", by The Guardian in 1987. In the John Major government, he served as Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1994 to 1995, after which he retired from politics.
Outside of politics, he worked at Saatchi & Saatchi as Deputy Advertising Chairman from 1983 to 1986 and was Director of Worldwide Corporate Communications at the company from 1987 to 1988. He became Deputy Chairman, working directly under Maurice Saatchi from 1988 to 1991.
From 1991 to 1998 he was a columnist for The Mail on Sunday and also wrote column for the Daily Express. From 1998 to 2001 he hosted the current affairs program Despatch Box on BBC television and has also been a radio presenter.
Nowadays he is best known as the bestselling author of 17 novels (up to 2010), such as 'The Turning Point', about Winston Churchill and Guy Burgess, and 'A Family Affair', about the last days of Margaret Thatcher in Downing Street, and also a number of non-fiction works.
His writing career began in 1989 with the publication of 'House of Cards', the first in what would become a trilogy of political thrillers with Francis Urquhart as the central character. 'House of Cards' was followed by 'To Play the King' in 1992 and 'The Final Cut' in 1994.
Each of the three novels was adapted by the BBC into a miniseries and, with Ian Richardson playiing a starring role, the trilogy received a combined 14 BAFTA nominations and two BAFTA wins and was voted the 84th Best British Show in History.
His 2004 novel 'Winston’s War' was shortlisted for the Channel 4 Political Book of the Year Award. He was the winner of the Benjamin Franklin Award for best historical novel in 2008 and in 2001 was shortlisted for the C4 Political Novel of the Year. He has also been a judge of the Whitbread Book of the Year Award and lectures at dozens of literary and fundraising events each year.
Anthony Howard of The Times said “Dobbs is following in a respectable tradition. Shakespeare, Walter Scott, even Tolstoy, all used historical events as the framework for their writings. And, unlike some of their distinguished works, Dobbs's novel is, in fact, astonishingly historically accurate."
He is now a full time writer and divides his time between London and Wiltshire, where he says that he lives near a church and a pub! He is married with four children.
Gerry Wolstenholme
October 2010
He is sometimes confused with American author Michael Dobbs, who is a distant relative of his and also an author of historical books (e.g. "Saboteurs - The Nazi Raid on America").
He is the son of nurseryman Eric and his wife Eileen Dobbs and was educated at Hertford Grammar School and Christ Church, Oxford University. After graduating in 1971 he moved to the United States.
In the USA he attended the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, which he funded by a job as feature writer for the Boston Globe, where he worked as an editorial assistant and political feature writer from 1971 to 1975.
He graduated in 1975 with an M.A., M.A.L.D., and PhD in nuclear defence studies. His doctoral thesis was published as SALT on the Dragon's Tail. In 2007 he returned to Tufts where he gave the Alumni Salutation.
After gaining his PhD he returned to England and began working in London for the Conservative Party. He was an advisor to the then leader of the Opposition, Margaret Thatcher, from 1977 to 1979 and from 1979 to 1981 he was a Conservative MP speechwriter.
He served as a Government Special Advisor from 1981 to 1986 and he survived the Brighton Bombing in 1984 at the Conservative Party Conference. He was the Conservative Party Chief of Staff from 1986 to 1987.
He was considered a masterful political operator and was called "Westminster’s baby-faced hit man", by The Guardian in 1987. In the John Major government, he served as Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1994 to 1995, after which he retired from politics.
Outside of politics, he worked at Saatchi & Saatchi as Deputy Advertising Chairman from 1983 to 1986 and was Director of Worldwide Corporate Communications at the company from 1987 to 1988. He became Deputy Chairman, working directly under Maurice Saatchi from 1988 to 1991.
From 1991 to 1998 he was a columnist for The Mail on Sunday and also wrote column for the Daily Express. From 1998 to 2001 he hosted the current affairs program Despatch Box on BBC television and has also been a radio presenter.
Nowadays he is best known as the bestselling author of 17 novels (up to 2010), such as 'The Turning Point', about Winston Churchill and Guy Burgess, and 'A Family Affair', about the last days of Margaret Thatcher in Downing Street, and also a number of non-fiction works.
His writing career began in 1989 with the publication of 'House of Cards', the first in what would become a trilogy of political thrillers with Francis Urquhart as the central character. 'House of Cards' was followed by 'To Play the King' in 1992 and 'The Final Cut' in 1994.
Each of the three novels was adapted by the BBC into a miniseries and, with Ian Richardson playiing a starring role, the trilogy received a combined 14 BAFTA nominations and two BAFTA wins and was voted the 84th Best British Show in History.
His 2004 novel 'Winston’s War' was shortlisted for the Channel 4 Political Book of the Year Award. He was the winner of the Benjamin Franklin Award for best historical novel in 2008 and in 2001 was shortlisted for the C4 Political Novel of the Year. He has also been a judge of the Whitbread Book of the Year Award and lectures at dozens of literary and fundraising events each year.
Anthony Howard of The Times said “Dobbs is following in a respectable tradition. Shakespeare, Walter Scott, even Tolstoy, all used historical events as the framework for their writings. And, unlike some of their distinguished works, Dobbs's novel is, in fact, astonishingly historically accurate."
He is now a full time writer and divides his time between London and Wiltshire, where he says that he lives near a church and a pub! He is married with four children.
Gerry Wolstenholme
October 2010
He is sometimes confused with American author Michael Dobbs, who is a distant relative of his and also an author of historical books (e.g. "Saboteurs - The Nazi Raid on America").
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
October 17, 2021
Read this book in 2006, and this book is the 1st part of a great trilogy featuring, Thomas Goodfellowe, MP.
This tale is about a backbencher, Thomas Goodfellowe, a MP with an inquiring mind and a man who fights for justice.
Just because of his ruthlessness for the truth he's opposed by those different kind of politicians who resist everything for what Godfellowe stands for.
Opposed from all sides, especially from his own party, he must find within these corridors of Westminster a way to do his politics in the only way he can, and that's truthful for himself and his constituents.
Also when he wants to help a Chinese girl, ha has no way of knowing that he will fall foul of the Prime Minister, the police and the press, especially Freddy Corsa, a desperate newspaper proprietor, who sets out to ruin Goodfellowe, financially, politically and sexually.
What is to follow is an intriguing and exciting novel that will show the hard and treacherous actions from those who think power and deceit are the only objectives in politics, against a lonely and decent politician who stands for integrity and honesty.
Highly recommended, for this a great start of a marvellous trilogy, and that's why I would like to call this first episode: "A Terrific Goodfellowe MP Begin"!
This tale is about a backbencher, Thomas Goodfellowe, a MP with an inquiring mind and a man who fights for justice.
Just because of his ruthlessness for the truth he's opposed by those different kind of politicians who resist everything for what Godfellowe stands for.
Opposed from all sides, especially from his own party, he must find within these corridors of Westminster a way to do his politics in the only way he can, and that's truthful for himself and his constituents.
Also when he wants to help a Chinese girl, ha has no way of knowing that he will fall foul of the Prime Minister, the police and the press, especially Freddy Corsa, a desperate newspaper proprietor, who sets out to ruin Goodfellowe, financially, politically and sexually.
What is to follow is an intriguing and exciting novel that will show the hard and treacherous actions from those who think power and deceit are the only objectives in politics, against a lonely and decent politician who stands for integrity and honesty.
Highly recommended, for this a great start of a marvellous trilogy, and that's why I would like to call this first episode: "A Terrific Goodfellowe MP Begin"!
July 31, 2024
I don’t write reviews here often, just rate. However, this book is interminable. Written in 1997 it’s dated badly and I suspect it wasn’t that current then. I was hoping for a ‘House of Cards’ style Westminster thriller, what I got was a murky stew of under the line xenophobic stereotypes, casual sexism and a world view that tells you more about Michael Dobbs and his world view than I suspect he is aware of.
Attach all of that to a very plodding and padded out plot and it’s almost unreadable.
Attach all of that to a very plodding and padded out plot and it’s almost unreadable.
July 30, 2010
I read close to half of the book and then put it down. It was going a bit slow for my taste.
August 24, 2016
Trashy but very good fun.
The political content would be improved if the author had a good read of manufacturing consent, but the main charter is lovable, if a little bit of caricature
The political content would be improved if the author had a good read of manufacturing consent, but the main charter is lovable, if a little bit of caricature
October 17, 2020
I've read a half dozen or so popular `thrillers' in recent weeks by authors whose names, at least, were familiar to me.
But after shaking my head at the comic-level improbability of Harlen Coben and James Patterson novels, and refusing to endure more than a couple of chapters of Jeffery Archer, when I began reading Michael Dobbs' GOODFELLOWE MP, I thought I'd arrived, at last, at the Premier League.
Dobbs' tale of boa constrictor intrigue by big business, inexorably squeezing the breath and hope out of a decent man who happens to be in their path, is told with growing tension and flair. It's an enjoyable read.
Tom Goodfellowe, a once-promising politician, is down on his luck as a result of a domino-series of personal tragedies. But a financial silver-lining appears at hand. At the lure of a series of handsome pay-days, simply for writing the odd newspaper article, he is almost unwittingly drawn into the grand and nefarious commercial scheme of highly intelligent but utterly unscrupulous press baron, Freddy Corsa (could there possibly be such a creature as an utterly unscrupulous press baron?).
Goodfellowe's conscience, though, is towering. He ultimately smells a seriously rotten egg and rails against increasingly sinister attempts at manipulation. Retribution is swift and brutal. He soon finds his personal world collapses around him. It may be a truism that you can't fight City Hall, but fighting the Big End of Town is suicidal.
Goodfellowe's potential love interest, the beautiful Russian/Irish restaurateur, is about as convincing as a $3 note, but most of the peripheral characters that populate the story are superbly drawn. Dobbs paints a picture of the MP's compromised colleagues that is all too plausible. And he is even better at outlining the initially innocuous but inevitably doomed situations that led them to perdition. The subtlety of the pressures put on these men, and indeed, Goodfellowe himself, appears irresistible. After all, who's averse to stashes of ostensibly legitimate cash? And how many of us wouldn't be quick to rationalise such largesse when the bags appear to get a little bit dirty, or when the source threatens to dry up altogether?
There are no shoot-outs here; no car chases; no gratuitous sex(unfortunately) but as the sweat beads gather on Goodfellowe's brow as cold, calculating corporate interests begin to crush his career, reputation, family and thus his life, this thriller really does thrill.
..................Oh dear. Then Hollywood enters stage left. The final dozen pages of this otherwise excellent novel descend into the clichéd Good versus Evil denouement where the Baddies are soundly thrashed and the Good Guys live happily ever after. This bit could have been written by Archer.
Dobbs has missed it by that much!
But after shaking my head at the comic-level improbability of Harlen Coben and James Patterson novels, and refusing to endure more than a couple of chapters of Jeffery Archer, when I began reading Michael Dobbs' GOODFELLOWE MP, I thought I'd arrived, at last, at the Premier League.
Dobbs' tale of boa constrictor intrigue by big business, inexorably squeezing the breath and hope out of a decent man who happens to be in their path, is told with growing tension and flair. It's an enjoyable read.
Tom Goodfellowe, a once-promising politician, is down on his luck as a result of a domino-series of personal tragedies. But a financial silver-lining appears at hand. At the lure of a series of handsome pay-days, simply for writing the odd newspaper article, he is almost unwittingly drawn into the grand and nefarious commercial scheme of highly intelligent but utterly unscrupulous press baron, Freddy Corsa (could there possibly be such a creature as an utterly unscrupulous press baron?).
Goodfellowe's conscience, though, is towering. He ultimately smells a seriously rotten egg and rails against increasingly sinister attempts at manipulation. Retribution is swift and brutal. He soon finds his personal world collapses around him. It may be a truism that you can't fight City Hall, but fighting the Big End of Town is suicidal.
Goodfellowe's potential love interest, the beautiful Russian/Irish restaurateur, is about as convincing as a $3 note, but most of the peripheral characters that populate the story are superbly drawn. Dobbs paints a picture of the MP's compromised colleagues that is all too plausible. And he is even better at outlining the initially innocuous but inevitably doomed situations that led them to perdition. The subtlety of the pressures put on these men, and indeed, Goodfellowe himself, appears irresistible. After all, who's averse to stashes of ostensibly legitimate cash? And how many of us wouldn't be quick to rationalise such largesse when the bags appear to get a little bit dirty, or when the source threatens to dry up altogether?
There are no shoot-outs here; no car chases; no gratuitous sex(unfortunately) but as the sweat beads gather on Goodfellowe's brow as cold, calculating corporate interests begin to crush his career, reputation, family and thus his life, this thriller really does thrill.
..................Oh dear. Then Hollywood enters stage left. The final dozen pages of this otherwise excellent novel descend into the clichéd Good versus Evil denouement where the Baddies are soundly thrashed and the Good Guys live happily ever after. This bit could have been written by Archer.
Dobbs has missed it by that much!
April 4, 2020
Fun and fast paced political fiction, with a few laugh-out-loud moments.
The start of the book is a little slow and does tend to sound like a Tom Sharpe-satire rather than something written from the pen of Michael Dobbs (a former aide to Margaret Thatcher). The farce of the opening section does come back to play a key role in developing the later narrative and it does serve to showcase Goodfellowe's good nature.
The closing section set in the Chamber of the House of Commons is described extremely accurately as you would expect from a writer with such a detailed knowledge of politics in Westminster. The atmosphere is drawn particularly well by the author. I also agree that Tom Goodfellowe MP is a much more realistic interpretation of a modern Member of Parliament wrestling with the dilemmas of the everyday. It is this aspect that marks this work out from Dobbs's other novels (House of Cards trilogy); it has less of the dramatic and thriller elements and much more the humdrum of normal Westminster life.
I actually want to read more about Mickey's life as a secretary to an MP, she seemed a particularly well draw character with passions and interests that compliment Goodfellowe on his journey through this novel.
I'm unlikely to rush to the sequel, but I'd like to read more of this MP and particularly find out if he's still held his seat!
The start of the book is a little slow and does tend to sound like a Tom Sharpe-satire rather than something written from the pen of Michael Dobbs (a former aide to Margaret Thatcher). The farce of the opening section does come back to play a key role in developing the later narrative and it does serve to showcase Goodfellowe's good nature.
The closing section set in the Chamber of the House of Commons is described extremely accurately as you would expect from a writer with such a detailed knowledge of politics in Westminster. The atmosphere is drawn particularly well by the author. I also agree that Tom Goodfellowe MP is a much more realistic interpretation of a modern Member of Parliament wrestling with the dilemmas of the everyday. It is this aspect that marks this work out from Dobbs's other novels (House of Cards trilogy); it has less of the dramatic and thriller elements and much more the humdrum of normal Westminster life.
I actually want to read more about Mickey's life as a secretary to an MP, she seemed a particularly well draw character with passions and interests that compliment Goodfellowe on his journey through this novel.
I'm unlikely to rush to the sequel, but I'd like to read more of this MP and particularly find out if he's still held his seat!
January 1, 2019
Not as gripping as House of Cards but good easy reading. The character of Goodfellowe is easy to like, and the book is written by an author with clear inside knowledge of the British parliamentary system. Bit slow to start, but worth the persistence.
May 17, 2019
Enjoyable read. Certainly good enough to encourage me to pick up the other books in the series
August 15, 2020
Interesting story about the power of the press and corruption in parliament. It shows how easy it is to cross the line between friendship and help to bribes and blackmail.
February 27, 2022
What to read if you’re tested positive. Something easy 😎
March 11, 2023
Unlikable protagonist who makes the wrong decisions and is hard to root for
January 18, 2024
Thought-provoking and entertaining.
January 1, 2017
This did not grab me
April 13, 2016
From zero to hero - Goodfellowe is Dobbs at his best!
unlike many political satires known, Goodfellowe MP features Tom Goodfellowe, a distinctive anti-hero:
he is a drunk, he's nearly bankrupt, his family life is in shambles, his political career is confined to the grey realm of the backbenches, his influence both in Westminster and his own constituency is nearly zero.. need i say more?
Nevertheless from the obscurity of himself, we find a strong individual, who unlike many of his peers in the corridors of power, stands up to the easy money solicited to him by the press baron Corsa. in fact, Goodfellowe derives strengths, g-d knows where, and though he is slandered and his family his being badmouthed and hurt in the newspapers, he is determined not to let money control the political agenda on his watch.
As usual Michael Dobbs writes superbly, in a thrilling way that makes it impossible to put down the book. highly recommended for political animals and fiction lovers in general !!
unlike many political satires known, Goodfellowe MP features Tom Goodfellowe, a distinctive anti-hero:
he is a drunk, he's nearly bankrupt, his family life is in shambles, his political career is confined to the grey realm of the backbenches, his influence both in Westminster and his own constituency is nearly zero.. need i say more?
Nevertheless from the obscurity of himself, we find a strong individual, who unlike many of his peers in the corridors of power, stands up to the easy money solicited to him by the press baron Corsa. in fact, Goodfellowe derives strengths, g-d knows where, and though he is slandered and his family his being badmouthed and hurt in the newspapers, he is determined not to let money control the political agenda on his watch.
As usual Michael Dobbs writes superbly, in a thrilling way that makes it impossible to put down the book. highly recommended for political animals and fiction lovers in general !!
January 19, 2016
I enjoyed the close observations (albeit fictional) about the brutal power of the press and the easy slide into political corruption from someone who had swam close to similar events during the premierships of Margaret Thatcher and John Major.
Some reviewers commented on the slow burn at the beginning. I understand where they are coming from. However, for me the pithy observations and the well-crafted language kept me reading until the seemingly disparate elements came together and the pull and power of the plot took over.
It was a good read that informed me, amused me, and at times filled me with admiration for the witty, rich and interesting prose. It just needed a few more minor incidents of conflict resolution built into the plot to support the main denouement and compel the reader more forcefully at the beginning to turn the pages.
Some reviewers commented on the slow burn at the beginning. I understand where they are coming from. However, for me the pithy observations and the well-crafted language kept me reading until the seemingly disparate elements came together and the pull and power of the plot took over.
It was a good read that informed me, amused me, and at times filled me with admiration for the witty, rich and interesting prose. It just needed a few more minor incidents of conflict resolution built into the plot to support the main denouement and compel the reader more forcefully at the beginning to turn the pages.
September 1, 2016
I read this book at work so it was competing with all the distractions however even so the story was not good enough to keep my attention. I finished it but only because I had nothing else to read. It just seemed like nothing very much happened and it was painfully obvious that there was more than one book and they were stretching out the story.
August 25, 2013
It's not quite as good as the "House of Cards" series, and it's just a bit slow for the first third or so, but after that it kicks into high gear and becomes unputdownable. If you liked House of Cards, you'll like this one. A great read.
September 27, 2015
Well it is certainly not the House of Cards. All a bit obvious, rather as if Dobbs was going through the motions. Written in the late 1990s the topic, press intrusion, is rather topical today. However it needed a more subtle handling. Somewhat disappointing.
November 17, 2024
Goodfellowe MP is stunning from the 1st to last page!
The political intrigue and tale of Goodfellowe MP is a must read novel. So pleased to see 2 more Goodfellowe books in the series!
The political intrigue and tale of Goodfellowe MP is a must read novel. So pleased to see 2 more Goodfellowe books in the series!
February 23, 2016
A real page turner
Superb from the start, highly credible, chillingly convincing about the dehumanizing ghastliness of the Palace of Fun in Westminster. Bravo!
Superb from the start, highly credible, chillingly convincing about the dehumanizing ghastliness of the Palace of Fun in Westminster. Bravo!
September 6, 2016
A good read, would certainly read another Goodfellowe novel if he wrote one.
May 7, 2015
Really enjoyed this. Will hunt out next book in series
April 13, 2017
Having read a few Michael Dobbs, it appears to me he has a very black-and-white view of the world. To be rich, you must be manipulative and power-hungry; if you're ethical, you must be poor and others will take advantage of you. I'd wish for more nuanced characters from someone who is able to write such interesting stories.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews