- Hardcover: 415 pages
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First Edition edition (July 1984)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0671504061
- ISBN-13: 978-0671504069
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16 x 3.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 555,010 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
First Among Equals
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Product Description
Review
"This engrossing, well-spun tale of ambition and will-to-power is a pick-hit in the summer sweepstakes. Archer received his usual high marks for readability and gives his novel a pleasing sense of substance."-Publishers Weekly"All the elements that make for a great commercial fiction: ambition, lust, greed, duplicity...a whale of a tale."-Newsday"Top-flight entertainment."-United Press International"Archer invests his novels with drama, irony and suspense-First Among Equals is no exception...fascinating."-The Boston Herald"A razzle-dazzle fictional turn...engaging...pertinent and compelling."-The Washington Times Magazine"Archer is a master entertainer."--Time Magazine "There isn't a better storyteller alive."-Larry King"Archer is one of the most captivating storytellers writing today. His novels are dramatic, fast moving, totally entertaining-and almost impossible to put down."-Pittsburgh Press"Cunning plots, silken style...Archer plays a cat-and-mouse game with the reader."-The New York Times"A storyteller in the class of Alexander Dumas...Unsurpassed skill...making the reader wonder intensely what will happen next."-The Washington Post
--This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.
Review
"'We haven't had a better novel about Parliament since Anthony Trollope' Scotsman; 'Another example of the author's mastery of the pure art of storytelling' Daily Telegraph"
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was one of the first books on British Politics I read whilst I was doing GCSE Politics and I think I passed because I enjoyed this novel so much I read it again and again.
Not only are the main characters totally believable and credible, they are seemlessly blended into British Political history from 1964. Their careers are affected by Wilson, Heath, Callaghan and Thatcher who appear as larger than life characters.
The mysteries and ancient conventions of British Politics are also intermingled into the storyline - any student of Politics wanting to understand the role of the whips will have an excellent introduction with this book.
Regardless of what you think of the author, he doesn't let his politics interfere in what is a first class story. A smashing read.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This story by Jefferey Archer is typical of his style.The main characters are all highly driven,ambitious and hardworking.The tale revolves around four MP's who are elected into the british parliament,in the 60's.Each of them is a stereotype;an academic,a scotsman,a viscount's son and another lawyer.Its thoroughly balanced,interms of what the characters deserve;Jefferey Archer establishes an intricate web of give and take with exact equivalence.So this is definitely not a classic.After reading the book one doesnt feel more experienced.However,this book has some strong points.The description of the British political system is credible(though three of the four characters are hardly political),and the pace of the story ensures that you keep turning the pages.The major political stepping stones of the characters are well distributed (but too smooth).On the whole,its a good one-time read.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There is the theoretical idea in Westminster Parliamentary systems that all Cabinet ministers are equals, and that the Prime Minister is simply First among Equals, rather than the nearly all-powerful figure most have become (similarly, the Pope as Bishop of Rome is theoretically merely the first among equals of bishops -- see how that works?).
In fact, the office of the Prime Minister is a powerful position, one that drives many people to do strange and bizarre things in aid of attaining the office. Like the characters in the novel, Jeffrey Archer (now Lord Archer, most recently guest of Her Majesty's prison system) had Prime Ministerial ambitions, too. Unlike many of the characters in this novel, Archer 'settled' for less than the Premeirship earlier in his career, discovering writing as a lucrative and creative outlet, and one that allows him to work out his personal and professional angst in a very unique manner. Much in this novel reflects Archer's own struggles.
The novel is very accurate and true to form in the mechanics and atmosphere of the House of Commons and House of Lords. Having been a Member of Parliament, Archer knew the environment from the inside, and drew realistic scenarios and created realistic characters of such degree that I have required this novel as a text when I've taught British politics.
The major cast of characters -- Seymour, Kerslake, Fraser and Gould -- fit composites of many back-benchers I knew when I worked in Parliament. Unlike the majority of back-benchers, these are men of ambition and ability (alas, somewhat rare combinations in politics in any nation). Each has an eye on the brass ring of No. 10 Downing Street, and each has, at the outset of political careers, an equal chance at success.
A week can be a long time in politics, it has been said, so the span of several decades might as well be an eternity. We see the personal and professional ups and downs of these individuals against a backdrop of real political history from the 1960s forward; this book written in 1984, the 'future' was speculative, but not beyond reason, and still makes for a good read. The careers of the foursome are not linearly upward; true to form of many political careers (including Archer's own), there are near misses and great falls, from which some recover, and others do not.
The ending is an interesting one, again part of Archer's speculative history, hinging upon one event that perhaps he knew well would never in fact happen. However, it is still a believable political event, and given that actual politics is often unbelievable, this novel makes a generous alternative history.
Archer's gift of storytelling is strong, and perhaps best when he is dealing with situations he himself has survived. 'First Among Equals' is one such story.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
jef's novels
stunning novel.True to life.Didn't know that I wasn't reading a documentry until later on.
Rivited to it to the end.
Rivited to it to the end.
Published 9 days ago by mickeyf
Not exactly top of the range English literature!
Four young men start out on their long climb up the greasy pole of politics. This book follows their progress as they join different parties and their progression into the... Read more
Published on 23 Feb 2006 by A reviewer called
The Best
I read the book last year and it is ever so nice. I read it over and over and over again. It is brilliant and so exciting. I could not take my eyes of it. Read more
Published on 9 May 2005
Brilliant Political Biography
This is one of Archer's finest novels. It plots the lives of four young men and their pursuit of the top job in British politics. Read more
Published on 13 Mar 2003
Good!
Jeffrey Archer has written a novel that combines suspense with good story telling. The main characters are plausible and interesting; the plot has good twists and the fact that... Read more
Published on 11 Nov 1998
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