Purple Homicide: Fear and Loathing on Knutsford Heath: Amazon.co.uk: John Sweeney, Martin Rowson, David Soul: Books

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Synopsis
The story of the rise and fall of the Hamiltons and of Martin Bell going to Westminster. Written by a political journalist, this retelling of the Tatton election campaign reads like a farce with a classical plot, with highs and lows, villains and heroes, and the good guy winning in the end.

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3.2 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Modern (and real life) Macbeth- Excellent, 29 Sep 2001

By A Customer

Purple Homicide tells the story of the 1997 UK General election, and in particular the incredible fight for the constituency of Tatton between Neil Hamilton, former minister for corporate probity, and Martin Bell, ex of the BBC and completely new to the dirty world of politics.
The book, essentially Sweeny's memories of the month leading up to election day, balances the serious, funny and downright surreal sides of the campaign, all brilliantly brought to life by Martin Rowson's cartoons. A book I would recommend to anyone, but would particularly appeal to those who stayed up to watch the downfall of the Tory Party in 1997. A truly marvellous read.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delicious account of the triumph of good over loathesome., 8 Feb 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Purple Homicide: Fear and Loathing on Knutsford Heath (Paperback)

Any book which has a character known as Julia Heartless-Bastard,plus a forward by David Soul(who was either Starsky or Hutch,I`m not sure which)has got to be worth investigating. And so it proved.It`s an account of the battle between Martin Bell(better known for TV reports from wartorn places) and Neil Hamilton(better known for taking bribes) for the allegedly safe Conservative seat of Tatton. It`s not entirely impartial;and neither should it be.And even though anyone with even the remotest interest in politics will be fully aware of the outcome,it`s a thoroughly intriguing look at the machinations of an election campaign..the contrast between the slickness of the Tories and the endearingly chaotic approach of their opponents is constantly apparent. I don`t think i`ve ENJOYED a book so much in years..a rivetting story brilliantly told.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars and now a reviewer from the UK..., 14 Nov 2001

By	b.a.carter@shef.ac.uk (Sheffield, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Purple Homicide: Fear and Loathing on Knutsford Heath (Paperback)

This book is not so much a treaties on political philosophy... Instead what we are treated to is life, imitating art, in a modern-day MacBeth and a very real battle for the truth. In 1997 the Conservative Party fought and lost the General Election with two hands tied behind their backs and a leg in chains. The cause of this predicament? Jeffery Archer, Neil Hamilton and Jonathon Aitken - men who held the public trust and who were found to be liars, cheaters, corrupt or all of the above. This book plots the fall of one of these three and the battle which was fought by an Independent Man (supported by Conservatives, Liberals and Labour supporters alike) to make a stand for truth and integrity.

It has been said that we all get the government we deserve. Martin Bell gave the people of Britain the hope that our expectations of representation can still be delivered. He allowed us to believe that if you separate the "party" from the "politics" in issues of standards that we can replace the hollow with the substantial. (It was particularly pleasing that in his four years as an MP he became hugely popular in Tatton and was widely regarded as a damn fine champion of his constituents).

This is a book about public vigilance that should be force-fed to all public servants in all countries and all students of politics. Let us see if our current government has taken these lessons on board, I for one fear the worst.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars one star is too good for this
i agree with other readers. this book is rubbish. the author sweeney writes as if he had picked up english from a dictionary. Read more

Published on 12 Aug 2005

1.0 out of 5 stars More leftie propaganda
Mr Legend of Wellington knows nothing about gritty British politics. He obviously has some strange agenda here. Read more

Published on 25 Mar 1999

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Purple Homicide: Fear and Loathing on Knutsford Heath (Paperback)

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