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Past Imperfect (Paperback)

by Julian Fellowes (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 528 pages
  • Publisher: Phoenix (30 April 2009)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0753825414
  • ISBN-13: 978-0753825419
  • Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 13 x 3.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,352 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review

'Guaranteed page turners don't come much better than Past Imperfect...witty, intelligent and elegantly written' (SUNDAY HERALD )

'This delightful comedy of manners from a master of social satire is perceptive, acute and ultimately very poignant.' (GOOD BOOK GUIDE )


Product Description

Damian Baxter is very, very rich - and he's dying. He lives alone in a big house in Surrey, looked after by a chauffeur, butler, cook and housemaid. He has but one concern: who should inherit his fortune... PAST IMPERFECT is the story of a quest. Damian Barker wishes to know if he has a living heir. By the time he married in his late thirties he was sterile (the result of adult mumps), but what about before that unfortunate illness? He was not a virgin. Had he sired a child? A letter from a girlfriend from these times suggests he did. But the letter is anonymous. Damian contacts someone he knew from their days at university. He gives him a list of girls he slept with and sets him a task: find his heir...
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

36 Reviews
5 star:
 (17)
4 star:
 (6)
3 star:
 (7)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (36 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Evocative, witty and sad, 1 Dec 2008
By Bluebell (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: Past Imperfect (Hardcover)
I really enjoyed this book. It evokes a world, that few of us have experienced, of aristocratic families and the social gatherings that underpinned the marriage-market of debutantes coming-out into 'Society'. It starts in the 1960s when this world was also changing and follows the lives of a group of bright young things who met at these gatherings. As with his Gosford Park, Julian Fellowes gently satirizes the foibles, petty snobberies and unearned privileges of this world. However the book is far more than this as there is a strong central story of a dying man's quest to find a son he didn't know he'd fathered until decades later and through this search the often sad and disappointing life stories of the central characters unfold and greatly enrich the book.
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Present Perfect, 4 Jun 2009
By F. S. L'hoir (Irvine, CA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
"Past Imperfect" produced a profound feeling of ambivalence in me; on the one hand, I wanted to devour it, and on the other, I did not want it to end. With the first sentence, Julian Fellowes caught my attention; by the end of the first page, he had me hooked. As a consequence, I found it very difficult to put the book down for the next three days, as I navigated the intricacies of its complex plot. It was as if I were being conducted on a special tour by a knowledgeable guide into a fascinating and privileged world to which I would otherwise have no entry: aristocratic London of the 1960s, an era in which Bright Young Things--and a few Dim Bulbs--still danced the night away at debutante balls.

Such a topic might, at first glance, seem frivolous, but the author soon dispels this notion by tightening the strings of suspense, introducing and repeating a key word--a place name, which I shall not reveal--and then adroitly deferring the resolution until the last chapter. With lucid prose and sharply honed wit, he cuts through the pretense and pretensions of his characters, which are delineated so thoroughly that one comes to care for each of them. (They are, in fact, so well defined that I was already casting a BBC series in my head!). The book, furthermore, comments on both past and present, being peppered with clever allusions to literature, theatre, and politics, sometimes in a single phrase (e.g., "The Curious Case of Gordon Brown" [p. 406]).

I recommend this book as an antidote for sundry books that I've picked up lately, which seem to have been knocked off in a hurry for persons in a hurry. Plot-driven, such books are like fast food; they fill one up only momentarily. With its memorable characters, wit, and suspense, "Past Imperfect," which recaptures the flavor of a vanished era, will leave one both satisfied and nourished long after the book has been closed reluctantly for the last time.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Pretty near perfect!, 17 Jun 2009
By Cassandra (Plymouth UK) - See all my reviews
I started off being just a little dubious about the cover plot summary and its implications. But Julian Fellowes not only knows his stuff he has the rare ability to conjure up an era with both great sincerity and a light touch. The marks of a good novel ( for me, at any rate) were all there: I genuinely cared about the characters-even those who were pretty obnoxious-
I could 'see' every moment with cinematic clarity ; detail was what it should be-detailed; the 'human condition' was clear for all to see but was portrayed with compassion and kindness and there was enough dry and wry humour scattered throughout to stop us taking ourselves too seriously.
It kept me engrossed throughout. A pretty near perfect novel.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars DISAPPOINTING
Given the high praise for this book by the Sunday Times and Richard and Judy I was surprised at the week story. Julian Fellowes can write but this book was simply boring. Read more
Published 29 days ago by Avid Reader

1.0 out of 5 stars Pretentious and plotless
Past Imperfect. A slow and dull exploration of aspects of a generation that would best be forgotten. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Yadayada

5.0 out of 5 stars Past Imperfect
I liked this book as much as his last book, Snobs. The dinner with the frozen raspberries was so very funny. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Anne

5.0 out of 5 stars as clever and touching as it is charming
I loved SNOBS but was rather put off this by the endless reviews which focussed on the Society element of the story and ignored what it's really about - ageing, memory, ugliness,... Read more
Published 1 month ago by A. Craig

3.0 out of 5 stars Who is the narrator?
Firstly, I should say that I really did enjoy this book. Julian Fellowes is an excellent writer - sharp, obeservant and very witty. Read more
Published 1 month ago by K. Dixon

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly good read. Rewally enjoyed it.
This was a very enjoyable book. Julian Fellowes is a master at creating period atmosphere and mood and he succeeds brilliantly in this book. Read more
Published 2 months ago by M Johnson

2.0 out of 5 stars Far from riveting
I read this while on holiday and, although I was happy to finish it, I was also happy to leave it at the resort and not bring it home to circulate amongst family and friends. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Fiction Fiend

3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting novel which takes a different slant on "sixties London".
Now approaching his sixties the narrator is contacted by an old acquaintance from his youth, Damian Baxter. Read more
Published 3 months ago by DeeJay

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable book
I took this on holiday and actually really enjoyed it. Not the 'can't put it down' type of read but good nevertheless.
Published 3 months ago by Wendy

4.0 out of 5 stars Escape to a different world!
I really enjoyed this novel. If I'm honest more than I expected to! Julian Fellowes writing is intelligent, descriptive and informative and his style is witty and engaging. Read more
Published 4 months ago by S. L. Miller

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