House of Cards

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Urquhart murders Mattie Storin, throwing her off the roof after she confronts Urquhart about his actions. From 1991 to 1998, Dobbs was a columnist for The Mail on Sunday newspaper. From 1998 to 2001, he hosted the current affairs programme Despatch Box on BBC Two. Michael Dobbs' 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. In 1990 House of Cards was turned into a television mini-series which received 14 BAFTA nominations and two BAFTA wins and was voted the 84th Best British Show in History. [14] Netflix produced a US version based upon Dobbs's first novel and its BBC adaptation. He was an executive producer of the American series. [15]

The writing in this book was also insufferable. The author writes in a manner that, while seemingly sophisticated, is confusing and challenging to follow. I had a hard time keeping everything straight in this book- who all the characters were, who had done what, etc. Normally I don't have a problem following even the most confusing of story-lines, but this book posed a serious challenge to me. I also found that the author wasn't very descriptive; he writes in a manner that is almost too straightforward and factual for a fiction book.In 1984, he survived the Brighton bombing at the Conservative Party Conference. He was called "Westminster's baby-faced hit man", by The Guardian in 1987. [4] From 1994 to 1995, he served in the John Major government as deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. Earle's rent boy appears in person at an important speech of Earle's, distracting him; subsequently, Earle is harassed by reporters who have been told of his indiscretion. This book was a roller-coaster of emotions. The main characters were a very nice pairing and the story wasn’t a cliché. At the beginning you may believe that, but the more you’re into the story, you will realize that is not anything like you thought it was going to be. It has so many twists and turns that is impossible to put down until you finish, and even then, you need more. It happened to me. I didn’t actually believe I was going to love this story as much as I did, but honestly it’s just the perfect instalment for the beginning of a saga. El resto de los personajes estan tremendamente desdibujados pudiendo destacar únicamente Mattie, quien tiene cierto protagonismo dado que es aliada y enemiga de Frank. Si bien es descrita como una mujer lista, intuitiva y joven estos atributos pocas veces salen a la luz, dado que la mayoría del tiempo pelea por sobresalir gracias a historias arriesgadas, y verdaderas, pero su forma de manejarse es más impulsiva que reflexiva, jugándole esto en contra la mayor parte del tiempo. Para cuando al fin deduce todo lo que paso con Frank ya ha firmado su sentencia de muerte But there’s still a glint of the old steel: “This isn’t a perfect place,” he admits. “We do have people who shouldn’t be here, absolutely clear about that. We don’t have the right procedures to get rid of them, no matter how hard we try.”

If you are looking for the most sensational political thriller.. look no further! I had high expectations for Michael Dobbs' "House of Cards" after becoming addicted to the American Netflix version and I must say, I was not disappointed. I thought it would be hard to beat the series starring the brilliant Kevin Spacey... but beaten to a pulp it was! After graduating from Oxford in 1971 with a third-class BA in philosophy, politics and economics, Dobbs moved to the United States. He attended the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, and graduated in 1977 with an MA, MALD, and a PhD in nuclear defence studies. [2] His doctoral dissertation was published as China and SALT: Dragon Hunting in a Multinuclear World. [3] In 2007, Dobbs gave the Alumni Salutation at Fletcher. Ottima anche la scrittura, all’inizio abbiamo poi una metafora del potere politico con la falena e le lampade che ritengo splendida. The Urquhart trilogy has been adapted in the United States as House of Cards. The show stars Kevin Spacey as Francis "Frank" Underwood, the Majority Whip of the Democratic caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives, who schemes and murders his way to becoming President of the United States. It is produced by David Fincher and Spacey's Trigger Street Productions, with the initial episodes directed by Fincher.The ruling Conservative Party is about to elect a new leader. Francis Urquhart, the Government Chief Whip in the House of Commons, introduces viewers to the contestants, before Henry Collingridge, the Secretary of State for the Environment, emerges victorious. Urquhart is contemptuous of Collingridge, who embodies the Thatcher-era rise of the lower-middle classes. Urquhart feigns respect, and expects promotion to a senior position in the Cabinet. After the general election, the party narrowly retains power. Urquhart makes suggestions for a hard-right reshuffle, including his own desired promotion to Home Secretary. However, Collingridge effects no changes at all, relying entirely on the advice of his party chairman, Lord "Teddy" Billsborough. Urquhart resolves to oust Collingridge. House of Cards is an efficient, well paced thriller, with a balanced blend of fun, and sordidness, and an interesting set of characters. What was a big thumbs down for me, though, was the characters. Let me tell you. The way they were built, full of secrets and dark desires, was perfect for a political thriller. The thing is, though, that due to their behavior and want to fulfill their purposes without to care for the rest made me hate them all. I found myself indifferent even for the characters that were supposed to be liked. Francis was probably the character I hated the most, although he is an amazing protagonist for a book like that. I just feel annoyed when I cannot connect with the characters at all, since they play a very important role to my opinion about a book and I was actually sad there was not a single character to like. I did love to hate a lot of them though. Mostly Francis but also Benjamin and some more. The way they were moving the strings of their puppets to lead themselves to their ultimate purpose was both frightening AND fascinating.

Determined to come up with the truth, she must risk everything, even her own life, in her effort to publish the revelations to the public. The late Ian Richardson, who starred as Urquhart in the BBC series, was a stage actor who had played Richard III among other Shakespeare leads. And Spacey had just completed a worldwide tour playing Richard III before beginning filming the first Netflix series in Baltimore in 2012. Francis Urquhart has his hand on every secret in politics --and is willing to betray them all to become prime minister.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 n Author Michael Dobbs was Margaret Thatcher's Chief of Staff and had the idea for this book after a meeting when she completely lost her temper and blamed him when she felt her election campaign was going wrong in 1987 (she was re-elected). It is Dobbs internal knowledge of Westminster and the world of politics, which makes this so compelling. Francis Urquhart is Chief Whip when we meet him, but has designs on greater things. Having been promised that if Henry Collingridge is elected as PM he will be promoted, he finds that his ambitions are thwarted. Rather than becoming a Cabinet Minister, he is told that the reduced majority means that Urquhart is required to remain in the shadows. The enforcer, indispensable, but, still, unrecognised. If you enjoy a book where our heroine constantly makes stupid decisions and leaves you shaking your head constantly, then this is the book for you. The book starts with Jonnie ready to propose even though they’ve never really dated and had slept together months earlier. Maggie’s life is in Minneapolis, but he went to Vegas and built a casino for her. Before he can propose though, she announces she is marrying her gay best friend to fulfill her father’s will and keep the family company going. It all started because Maggie Thatcher beat me up and was actually rather cruel to me,” he says, looking softly out onto the Thames from a sunny spot on the Lords Terrace. “I don’t complain about that – politics is rough and tough. But it caused me great unhappiness for a while . . . [Despite] the fact that she could be absolutely horrid to me, I still regard her as being probably the greatest peacetime prime minister in the 20th century.” His novel, Winston's War (2004), was shortlisted for the Channel 4 Political Book of the Year Award, and his Harry Jones novels, A Sentimental Traitor and A Ghost at the Door, for the Paddy Power Political Book of the Year awards in 2013 and 2014, respectively. His novels are also published in the United States.

The story is by no means unique but the treatment of Francis’s character makes all the difference. Recommended !

Yes Minister (and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister), a satirical sitcom about a generic British government Honestly, I had been hoping that after reading this book I would want to watch and enjoy the show. In reality, after reading this book I will definitely not be watching the show for fear that it will be as bad as the book. E anche quando mette in moto le macchinazioni che porteranno alla sua caduta, lo fa per vendicarsi di quell’umiliazione. Stupendosi di esserci riuscito. Moore, Charles (4 October 2015). "Margaret Thatcher biography part 14: Wobbly Thursday". The Telegraph . Retrieved 21 March 2018. His most recent foray into British politics was his attempt to push the Private Member’s Bill to legislate for an EU referendum through the Lords, which failed in January 2014. He believes “the European question has been a cancer, a huge distraction in this country”, and warns David Cameron to take a softly-softly, behind-the-scenes approach to his EU renegotiation. Urquhart-style persuasion, perhaps.