House of Cards (Francis Urquhart #1) by Michael Dobbs

My rating:

(3.5 stars rounded up)

House of Cards is a solid power driven political thriller, well documented, and peppered with humour.

In his first political thriller, at the heart of the political scene in the ‘90s, Lord Dobbs likens politics to a game of cards:

Shuffle - Cut - Hand.

The book starts with a flurry of characters, setting the scene for general election night the UK. Henry Collinridge, The Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party, wins the Party their fourth term by a sliver, leaving the opposition in a stronger position than ever.

Francis Urquhart, Chief Whip for the Conservative Party, knows every dirty little secret of his MPs. When the Party wins the general elections by a whimsical margin, Urquhart urges Collinridge to reshuffle, and move him to a more prominent position. But the PM turns down his proposal, leaving 61 year old Urquhart working in the shadows, humiliated and irate.

His anger fuels a plan to bring down the Prime Minister. With a wealth of confidential information at his disposal, no qualms about using it, and the complete trust of Collinridge, Urquhart is a powerful and dangerous man.

He gets drawn to the bright, young, and attractive Mattie Storin, political correspondent for the Chronicle (the Conservative newspaper). In a bid to advance her career, and defying the unwritten ground rules of Westminster, she establishes direct contact with Francis Urquhart. Despite this breech, they come to a conspiratorial agreement: Urquhart provides her with information on lobby terms, and she fast becomes one of the best political correspondents of her time. Well, we might think that, but Urquhart couldn’t possibly comment.

Will their professional agreement survive what increasingly resembles a consensual affair? And will she manage to ‘climb the ladder’ in a predominantly male line of work?

In this page turner, Michael Dobbs draws on his personal experience and detailed knowledge of politics and journalism. He describes the political scene and media coverage with stark realism, and a generous sprinkling of dry humour.

Politics (or “poly-ticks” as the author suggests) isn’t my favourite subject and yet this book got me hooked. By the time I had read the first third of the House of Cards, I knew I would want to get my hands on the trilogy as a whole.

Insightful, cynical, and dark as night, House of Cards makes for a good thriller, with well-rounded characters, and kept me on edge right to its treacherous finale.

House of Cards is an efficient, well paced thriller, with a balanced blend of fun, and sordidness, and an interesting set of characters.

PS about the revised edition: the book cover sports a “revised edition” subtitle. The author states certain changes have been made since the original edition, but the storyline remains unchanged. This new edition contains multiple punctuation/spelling mistakes and my rating does not reflect this.

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