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A Scandalous Man
Pages clean, tight and bright. Good copy.
- GenresFiction
397 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
About the author
Gavin Esler
14 books18 followersGavin Esler is an award winning television and radio broadcaster, novelist and journalist. He is the author of five novels and two non-fiction books, The United States of Anger, and most recently Lessons from the Top, a study of how leaders tell stories to make other people follow them. It’s based on personal encounters with a wide variety of leaders, from Bill Clinton and Angela Merkel to Tony Blair, Margaret Thatcher, and even cultural leaders such as Dolly Parton.
Reviewers have been full of praise for Esler’s fiction and story-telling abilities. The writer Bernard Cornwell said his novels are "made luminous with wisdom, sympathy and story telling." The Guardian commented that Esler's fiction displays "undoubted sympathy for the human condition and a burning anger, a genuine lyricism, a quick sensitivity and a real understanding of other people." The Financial Times said Esler's stories of people in power and the compromises they are forced to make, shows that he "understands the political beast better than anyone."
Gavin EslerGavin Esler was born in Glasgow, and brought up in Edinburgh and Northern Ireland. His family are descended from German Protestant refugees who fled to safety in Scotland during the religious wars of the early 17th Century. He spent the first three years of his life living with his parents, grandmother and aunts in a three-bedroom council house in Clydebank. The family moved to Edinburgh and Gavin won a scholarship to George Heriot's School. He planned to study medicine at Edinburgh University and then, to the relief of patients everywhere, made an abrupt switch to English, American and, eventually, Irish literature. After he finished his post-graduate studies he was offered a job on The Scotsman in Edinburgh but turned it down as likely to be a bit dull, preferring instead The Belfast Telegraph. He moved on to the BBC in Belfast during some of the worst of "the Troubles," and got to know leaders of the IRA and other Republican and loyalist paramilitary groups. On one occasion the leader of a loyalist organisation introduced himself to Esler with the memorable words: “I am speaking to you as someone deeply involved in violence.” It turned out to be an accurate description.
His investigative work on the wrongful convictions of Giuseppe Conlon and his son Gerry led to a campaign which eventually overturned the convictions of the so-called “Guildford Four” and “Maguire Seven” -- innocent Irishmen and women convicted of bombing offences on the basis on non-existent or unreliable “evidence.” Their stories eventually became the basis of the film, In the Name of the Father.
Esler moved on to become the BBC's Chief North America Correspondent, based in Washington and covering the Bush and Clinton White House. He visited 48 of the 50 states but somehow missed out on Wisconsin and North Dakota. His first encounter with Bill Clinton in 1991 led him to believe that the then Governor of Arkansas might indeed become President of the United States some day - a belief somewhat dented when a Democratic party official described Clinton to Esler as “Oh, you mean Governor Zipper Problem.”
He then reported from countries as diverse as China, Peru, Argentina, Cuba, Brazil, Russia, Jordan, Iran, Saudia Arabia and from the Aleutian Islands, as well as all across Europe. He won a Royal Television Society award for a TV documentary about Alaska and a Sony Gold award for a BBC radio investigation into the case of Sami al Hajj, who was detained without charge in Guantanamo bay, but released shortly after the radio programme was broadcast.
Over the past two decades Gavin Esler has interviewed world leaders ranging from Mrs Thatcher, David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Tony Blair, John Major, King Abdullah of Jordan and President Chirac to President Clinton, President Carter, Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega, Ed Miliband and Israel's Shimon Peres. In the arts and culture programmes he anchors for BBC World he has als
Reviewers have been full of praise for Esler’s fiction and story-telling abilities. The writer Bernard Cornwell said his novels are "made luminous with wisdom, sympathy and story telling." The Guardian commented that Esler's fiction displays "undoubted sympathy for the human condition and a burning anger, a genuine lyricism, a quick sensitivity and a real understanding of other people." The Financial Times said Esler's stories of people in power and the compromises they are forced to make, shows that he "understands the political beast better than anyone."
Gavin EslerGavin Esler was born in Glasgow, and brought up in Edinburgh and Northern Ireland. His family are descended from German Protestant refugees who fled to safety in Scotland during the religious wars of the early 17th Century. He spent the first three years of his life living with his parents, grandmother and aunts in a three-bedroom council house in Clydebank. The family moved to Edinburgh and Gavin won a scholarship to George Heriot's School. He planned to study medicine at Edinburgh University and then, to the relief of patients everywhere, made an abrupt switch to English, American and, eventually, Irish literature. After he finished his post-graduate studies he was offered a job on The Scotsman in Edinburgh but turned it down as likely to be a bit dull, preferring instead The Belfast Telegraph. He moved on to the BBC in Belfast during some of the worst of "the Troubles," and got to know leaders of the IRA and other Republican and loyalist paramilitary groups. On one occasion the leader of a loyalist organisation introduced himself to Esler with the memorable words: “I am speaking to you as someone deeply involved in violence.” It turned out to be an accurate description.
His investigative work on the wrongful convictions of Giuseppe Conlon and his son Gerry led to a campaign which eventually overturned the convictions of the so-called “Guildford Four” and “Maguire Seven” -- innocent Irishmen and women convicted of bombing offences on the basis on non-existent or unreliable “evidence.” Their stories eventually became the basis of the film, In the Name of the Father.
Esler moved on to become the BBC's Chief North America Correspondent, based in Washington and covering the Bush and Clinton White House. He visited 48 of the 50 states but somehow missed out on Wisconsin and North Dakota. His first encounter with Bill Clinton in 1991 led him to believe that the then Governor of Arkansas might indeed become President of the United States some day - a belief somewhat dented when a Democratic party official described Clinton to Esler as “Oh, you mean Governor Zipper Problem.”
He then reported from countries as diverse as China, Peru, Argentina, Cuba, Brazil, Russia, Jordan, Iran, Saudia Arabia and from the Aleutian Islands, as well as all across Europe. He won a Royal Television Society award for a TV documentary about Alaska and a Sony Gold award for a BBC radio investigation into the case of Sami al Hajj, who was detained without charge in Guantanamo bay, but released shortly after the radio programme was broadcast.
Over the past two decades Gavin Esler has interviewed world leaders ranging from Mrs Thatcher, David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Tony Blair, John Major, King Abdullah of Jordan and President Chirac to President Clinton, President Carter, Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega, Ed Miliband and Israel's Shimon Peres. In the arts and culture programmes he anchors for BBC World he has als
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 14, 2021
The scandalous man in question is Robin Burnett, cabinet minister in Margaret Thatcher’s government, until his fall from grace. This covers his life and career 1979-2005 and is very readable. Plenty of action. Is this really fiction? His story is scarily believable, set against newsreels of a recent yesterday, culminating in the 7/7 London bombings.
Gavin Esler was the BBC’s chief North American Correspondent for a number of years and then a presenter of Newsnight, again on the BBC.
CORRECTION:
Read in handsome hardback, not in Kindle this time.
Gavin Esler was the BBC’s chief North American Correspondent for a number of years and then a presenter of Newsnight, again on the BBC.
CORRECTION:
Read in handsome hardback, not in Kindle this time.
April 12, 2011
Awesome, lovely book. Very humane, subtle in its politickings, and the politickings, yes, I LOVED That! There's actually 2, 3 co-current scandals running at the same time. The main one of course is the Allies-Iraq War where it was staged of sorts to fight it. The other humane scandals focused on revival and rebirth of love and human, and well of Robert Burnett with other women in his life. You'd feel pity and understanding for why he 'cheated'. Next thing that I liked also is the case-study discussion by the young people in the book who were taking Arabic classes, and the general talk about the Muslims - awesome. I myself am a Muslim who is in a relationship with a Christian, and this echoes with what I have.
Really, really awesome book, keeps you on your toes and emotion, as well as challenges your intellectual once in a while.
I recommend it to almost everyone!
Really, really awesome book, keeps you on your toes and emotion, as well as challenges your intellectual once in a while.
I recommend it to almost everyone!
September 4, 2020
3 [I can only really discuss it with spoilers, so major spoilers ahead]
February 9, 2025
A Scandalous Man by Gavin Esler is a great read
The relationship dynamics of the characters in A Scandalous Man keep the interest and excitement in this book to the very end with a such moving scenes so close to reality of the political minefield in British government covered so well by Gavin Esler. This was as good as Power Play!
The relationship dynamics of the characters in A Scandalous Man keep the interest and excitement in this book to the very end with a such moving scenes so close to reality of the political minefield in British government covered so well by Gavin Esler. This was as good as Power Play!
June 12, 2019
Very readable fictional political fantasy based on the realties of UK domestic and US global politics in the 1980s and 2005, The characterisation works well most of the time, but Esler glaringly neglects proper treatment of the fate of the protagonist's wife!
January 2, 2023
An interesting enough book focusing on political scandals and the state of the world around the 2000s. That said, it does sometimes read more journalistic than novelistic and the main character's death in the 7/7 bombings felt a bit tacked on.
Wasn't too bad a book though.
Wasn't too bad a book though.
January 28, 2025
I really enjoyed this - it’s been a while since I read a decent political thriller and this had it all in spades. I mean it’s not quite “House of Cards” but very few do reach that standard.
I don’t “do” spoilers so I won’t but I’d just urge anyone who likes a damn good read to give this one a go.
I don’t “do” spoilers so I won’t but I’d just urge anyone who likes a damn good read to give this one a go.
October 12, 2017
Found this book quite boring, I think because it was based around real-life events and I knew what was coming.
June 4, 2018
Recommend
If your a Michael Dobbs fan your probably like this. I will be moving in to his second novel now.
If your a Michael Dobbs fan your probably like this. I will be moving in to his second novel now.
December 29, 2024
Love a scandal!!
March 17, 2026
Plodding, repetitive, dull, repetitive.
April 20, 2015
I know of Gavin Esler as he is a newscaster and reporter in the UK. I chose his book in my local library because I was sure I would enjoy it. Perhaps my expectations were too high. Esler was born in Glasgow, Scotland on 27 February 1953 and is a Scottish BBC television presenter, journalist and author. He was educated at George Heriot's School in Edinburgh. He gained a BA in English and American literature from the at the University of Kent, England and an MA in Anglo-Irish literature with distinction the University of Leeds. Esler was a main presenter on flagship political analysis programme, Newsnight on BBC2 from January 2003 until January 2014. He is currently the deputy presenter of BBC News at 5 and a relief presenter on the BBC News Channel. Gavin Esler is also the main presenter of the weekly news discussion programme Dateline London and its Scottish equivalent political analysis Dateline Scotland on the BBC. He lives in London, England.
A Scandalous Man begins in the spring of 2005, a dull general election looms in the shadow of the invasion of Iraq. Then there is the mysterious attempted suicide of Robin Burnett, a disgraced former Tory defence minister forever marked down by a cynical tabloid culture as "a scandalous man". While, on the surface, Burnett is a standard-issue brutish Thatcherite who has had several extramarital affairs, one of which led to his public downfall and the end of his marriage in 1987, however, he has now fallen in love with an Iranian-American TV reporter. The affair ultimately changes his views on everything, from politics to sex.
The real "scandal" is the poisonous relationship that develops between Britain and America in the post 1979 period.Scandalous The author is very good on Burnett's uneasy association a figure in the US adminstration, David Hickox, who implicates Burnett in arms dealing during the Iran-Iraq war. A Scandalous Man is a pretty standard tale of parliamentary power and extramarital intrigue, with an incredible plot and predictable characterisations. The sex scenes are only embarrassing.
An attempt at a less conventional structure and story are to be found alongside conventional romance,thriller. This is a multiple narrative of diverse Londoners in a post 9/11 world. The book strays into the life of Burnett's angry son Harry, fledgling translator of Kundera, and the multicultural London he inhabits. Harry attends an Arabic for beginners class in Acton, but finds himself studying in the ridiculous situation of being in a class with two humourless fundamentalists, one MI5 officer, who is watching them, a radical Muslim lawyer and a beautiful Turkish woman who helps to heal Harry's wounded heart. Oh dear!
Esler has some astute political observations to make in A Scandalous Man. However, he may, have to move into less obvious, non-Newsnight type territory. With regret, I cannot recommend this book.
A Scandalous Man begins in the spring of 2005, a dull general election looms in the shadow of the invasion of Iraq. Then there is the mysterious attempted suicide of Robin Burnett, a disgraced former Tory defence minister forever marked down by a cynical tabloid culture as "a scandalous man". While, on the surface, Burnett is a standard-issue brutish Thatcherite who has had several extramarital affairs, one of which led to his public downfall and the end of his marriage in 1987, however, he has now fallen in love with an Iranian-American TV reporter. The affair ultimately changes his views on everything, from politics to sex.
The real "scandal" is the poisonous relationship that develops between Britain and America in the post 1979 period.Scandalous The author is very good on Burnett's uneasy association a figure in the US adminstration, David Hickox, who implicates Burnett in arms dealing during the Iran-Iraq war. A Scandalous Man is a pretty standard tale of parliamentary power and extramarital intrigue, with an incredible plot and predictable characterisations. The sex scenes are only embarrassing.
An attempt at a less conventional structure and story are to be found alongside conventional romance,thriller. This is a multiple narrative of diverse Londoners in a post 9/11 world. The book strays into the life of Burnett's angry son Harry, fledgling translator of Kundera, and the multicultural London he inhabits. Harry attends an Arabic for beginners class in Acton, but finds himself studying in the ridiculous situation of being in a class with two humourless fundamentalists, one MI5 officer, who is watching them, a radical Muslim lawyer and a beautiful Turkish woman who helps to heal Harry's wounded heart. Oh dear!
Esler has some astute political observations to make in A Scandalous Man. However, he may, have to move into less obvious, non-Newsnight type territory. With regret, I cannot recommend this book.
November 9, 2015
Because of my respect for the author as a journalist I had high hopes for this book, and although I enjoyed it in parts, ultimately, I felt frustrated by it. I know it is too simplistic to summarise over 400 pages in such a way, but I felt the book suffered because the author couldn't quite decide whether he was a novelist or a journalist.
There is much that is good about the book. I thought the early part especially was written with in a sharp, compelling style, that was occasionally witty about the press and about politicians. We are taken into the inner sanctum of power in the UK, and to some extent, in the US as well. And there are plenty of unresolved events to drive the plot along and keep us hooked. Will he live? Did he or didn't he? And if he didn't, who did? And apart from that, what did he do that was so scandalous when he was younger? Who was the woman in the photo? Who was the woman on the heath? What was on the computer? Will he ever be reconciled to his son? Thus far we have an interesting novel with plenty of personal and political content and intrigue.
And then it happens. Round about a third of the way through the book several new characters are introduced and we go to an Arabic language class. After several chats in the pub the characters provide another romantic diversion and become the substance of a major sub-plot that the book ends with. At the end of the book it feels that the author is writing like a Newsnight Reporter, forensically giving us the facts of another major event. However, by that time the first major story was over. All the questions in the previous paragraph had been answered. The novel had finished way before the ending.
I felt the sub-plot was unnecessary and needed editing out. It has the sense of being crudely bolted on, despite attempts to integrate it into the main story. Clearly the author had plenty of authoritative material for the sub-plot. Perhaps he should have just kept it for a book in its own right.
There is much that is good about the book. I thought the early part especially was written with in a sharp, compelling style, that was occasionally witty about the press and about politicians. We are taken into the inner sanctum of power in the UK, and to some extent, in the US as well. And there are plenty of unresolved events to drive the plot along and keep us hooked. Will he live? Did he or didn't he? And if he didn't, who did? And apart from that, what did he do that was so scandalous when he was younger? Who was the woman in the photo? Who was the woman on the heath? What was on the computer? Will he ever be reconciled to his son? Thus far we have an interesting novel with plenty of personal and political content and intrigue.
And then it happens. Round about a third of the way through the book several new characters are introduced and we go to an Arabic language class. After several chats in the pub the characters provide another romantic diversion and become the substance of a major sub-plot that the book ends with. At the end of the book it feels that the author is writing like a Newsnight Reporter, forensically giving us the facts of another major event. However, by that time the first major story was over. All the questions in the previous paragraph had been answered. The novel had finished way before the ending.
I felt the sub-plot was unnecessary and needed editing out. It has the sense of being crudely bolted on, despite attempts to integrate it into the main story. Clearly the author had plenty of authoritative material for the sub-plot. Perhaps he should have just kept it for a book in its own right.
February 24, 2013
Esler is an accomplished guide, illustrating the consequences of the rise to power of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979, step by step to modern day domestic terrorism and Middle East tensions, in a perfectly readable book. That said, whilst the Iran-Iraq war, Contragate, and the Conservative party's dalliance with being a personality cult all make for gripping subjects, Esler can’t exactly be credited with coming up with these ideas, however authentically he writes about them. And when it comes to analysing exactly what Esler has brought to this – aside from his first-hand insights into political wrangling – it's hard not to conclude that he isn't especially subtle or original. There is some really clunky prose and dialogue, and more than a couple of characters where Esler completely fails to disguise their sole purpose of acting as mouthpieces for different ideologies. The final 100 pages try to build to an emotional and eventful climax, but by then the best of the book has been and gone.
August 11, 2011
At first I thought I wasn't going to like this, I didn't think the political context would be real enough, but it caught me several chapters in. An intriguing reflection on British politics and foreign policy, from someone with the knowledge to tell it authentically, interspersed with a very real tale of human emotion and family conflict. Made me want to read more about the Middle East. Slightly strange use of UK street slang though.
Read
November 4, 2011Written by Esler, the other, non-Paxman presenter of the heavyweight political show Newsnight on the BBC, this is a reasonable attempt at a novel with a heart in politics. The man in question is a Thatcherite who falls from grace due to a sex scandal, with other stories running along side of his now-grown-up son and living in a post 9/11 London
April 7, 2013
Great woven skill of embedding fiction into fact, Esler took the reader onto a journey from 1979 -2005, with the rise of Thatcherism, Khomeni, Iran-Iraq war, contracted, rise of neo-con politics, New Labour and 7/7. The portrayal of characters in reality was what kept me enticed throughout the book. Gain Esler the journalist in my eyes is great, Gavin Esler the author is even greater.
February 8, 2013
Written by a journalist and it shows. Characterisation and writing patchy. Maybe the politics has some truth in it but it is fiction so no need to justify assertions.
May 5, 2013
I was surprised. I enjoyed this sort of political tale. Bits can be remembered as fact, and other parts are true fiction. Nevertheless it melds into a good read.
April 26, 2014
I loved this book but I think he carried too many stories through it. There was enough going on with Harry and Robin without the Muslim subplot. But still a great read
September 21, 2016
My first foray into the world of political fiction and not bad. Not bad at all...
July 7, 2012
Superb book, mixes well known history with a poignant love story to great effect
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews