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Barbara Vine
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The Birthday Present Hardcover – 28 Aug. 2008

by Barbara Vine (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 476 ratings
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Mention his name and most people will say, 'Who?' while the rest think for a bit and ask if he wasn't the one who got involved in all that sleaze back whenever it was...?

It's late spring of 1990 and a love affair is flourishing: between Ivor Tesham, a thirty-three year old rising star of Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government, and Hebe Furnal, a stunning North London housewife stuck in a dull marriage. What excitement Hebe lacks at home, however, is amply compensated for by the well-bred and intensely attractive Tesham - an ardent womanizer and ambitious politican.

On the eve of her twenty-eighth birthday, Tesham decides to give Hebe a present to remember: something far more memorable than, say, the costly string of pearls he's already lavished upon her. Involving a fashionable new practice known as 'adventure sex', a man arranges for his unsuspecting but otherwise willing girlfriend to be snatched from the street, bound and gagged, and delivered to him at a mutually agreed venue ...

Set amidst an age of IRA bombings, the first Gulf War, and sleazy politics, The Birthday Present is the gripping story of a fall from grace, and of a man who carries within him all the hypocrisy, greed and self-obsession of a troubled era.

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  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Viking
  4. Publication date
    28 Aug. 2008
  5. Dimensions
    16.1 x 2.8 x 24.1 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    0670917613
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0670917617
  8. See all details
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Product description

Amazon Review

Those who feel that Ruth Rendell's best writing is done under her Barbara Vine nom-de-plume (and there are many who do) will need little persuasion to pick up The Birthday Present. But the fact that this is something of a departure for the author -- under either of her names -- may give them pause.

Margaret Thatcher's days as prime minister are over, and the John Major era of the Conservative party is about to begin. The media is full of tales of sleaze and corruption, and it is not a good time to be a Tory Member of Parliament. However, Ivor Tesham is sanguine: money is no object to him; he is charismatic and attractive, and he is in the middle of a passionate affair. The fly in the ointment is the fact that this is an adulterous relationship: not a happy state of affairs when PM John Major has made 'Back to Basics' morality and 'Victorian Values' the new yardsticks for his variously philandering and kickback-taking MPs. Ivor and his lover -- the beautiful Hebe Furnal -- share a particular erotic predilection; a taste for bondage and the more risky extremes of sexuality. Ivor arranges for a mock kidnapping in line with the couple's games, but, needless to say (this is a Barbara Vine novel, after all), things quickly go pear-shaped, and Igor find that everything he holds dear is about to be stripped away from him.

As this synopsis suggests, Rendell is moving into even more incendiary territory than she has traversed before, and the political element makes the experiment even more piquant. Those who know Rendell's association with the Labour Party (she is a working peer) might assume that a novel which rekindles all the sleaze of the last Tory government (particularly when the latest incarnation of the party is riding high in the polls) is a political act, but Rendell/Vine is far too sophisticated a writer to fall into that trap. In fact, this is one of the most ingenious and disturbing books. As often before with her, the stake for the central character could not be higher and it is impossible not to be drawn into the plight of the beleaguered Ivor (not for the first time, we are reminded of the author’s distinguished American predecessor Patricia Highsmith). The Birthday Present,disturbing as it is, will sit happily on your shelves alongside all the other Barbara Vine titles -- and if you don't possess them, why not? --Barry Forshaw

Review

The Rendell/Vine partnership has for years been producing consistently better work than most Booker winners put together (Ian Rankin)

Barbara Vine is Ruth Rendell letting rip (Daily Telegraph)

A superb and original writer (Amanda Craig, Express)

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Viking; First U.S. Edition (28 Aug. 2008)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0670917613
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0670917617
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 16.1 x 2.8 x 24.1 cm
  • Customer reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 476 ratings

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Barbara Vine

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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
476 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book enjoyable and engaging from start to finish. They describe the story as suspenseful, with an interesting plot that switches between points of view. The writing style is described as elegant, clever, and new. Overall, customers consider it a gripping and intriguing psychological thriller.

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ReadabilitySuspensefulWriting styleCharacter development
18 customers mention ‘Readability’18 positive0 negative

Customers find the book readable and enjoyable. They say it's on par with the author's best works.

"...Had I read it after another very good book, who knows, maybe I would have given it four?..." Read more

"...tale,full of suspense,superbly written and constructed,and well worth reading, for me it lacked the consummate psychological acuity of the very..." Read more

"This is a real page turner. Unusual in that it has two narrators-confusing at first as the voices change without warning...." Read more

"...Highly recomended." Read more

17 customers mention ‘Suspenseful’14 positive3 negative

Customers find the story gripping and intriguing. They appreciate the complex and intricate plot that keeps them hooked. The book is described as an exciting read with clever characterisation and hints that keep you guessing.

"...hooked, the elegant writing , the clever characterisation, the hints that titillated but didn't reveal all, those that would eventually not lead..." Read more

"...with dire consequences. Whilst this is a gripping tale,full of suspense,superbly written and constructed,and well worth reading, for me it..." Read more

"...The plot is complex and intricate and superbly teased out. Read faster and faster as it progressed...." Read more

"...But it does have many elements of suspense...." Read more

5 customers mention ‘Writing style’5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the writing style. They find it elegant, with clever characterisation and topical explanations. The writing is described as a new way to write a book, with clever hints and topical explanations that keep readers hooked. Readers describe the book as gripping and intriguing, with every sentence making an impact.

"...But the minute I started on it I was hooked, the elegant writing , the clever characterisation, the hints that titillated but didn't reveal all,..." Read more

"I read a lot of novels . To read one by such an accomplished writer is to feel you are in safe hands & can relax...." Read more

"...Unmissable... a must to read. All suspence." Read more

"A clever and new way to write a book. I found it gripping and very intriguing!" Read more

4 customers mention ‘Character development’4 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the well-developed characters. They appreciate the clever characterisation and hints that keep readers engaged.

"...I started on it I was hooked, the elegant writing , the clever characterisation, the hints that titillated but didn't reveal all, those that would..." Read more

"...However that does not detract from it in any way. A large number of characters not all of whom are drawn deeply - correct as in keeping with the..." Read more

"...But it does have many elements of suspense. The author creates two main characters, and we watch them slowly succumbing to wrong turnings and..." Read more

"I enjoy her books and this was a gripping tale with well defined characters" Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • H. Lacroix
    5.0 out of 5 stars A fine book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 July 2009
    Verified Purchase
    Having just read before Taylor's ' A stain on the silence', I couldn't help but see how vastly superior 'the Birthday Present 'is and that's why I have no hesitation in giving it five stars. Had I read it after another very good book, who knows, maybe I would have given it four? But the minute I started on it I was hooked, the elegant writing , the clever characterisation, the hints that titillated but didn't reveal all, those that would eventually not lead anywhere much but allowed us to wonder in what direction the story would be going, all this reminded me of all the reasons I have always had for liking and admiring Rendell's style. I think the way she portrays her characters is what I like best. Rendell is never PC. What the protagonists feel, think and say is entirely in keeping with who they are and however distateful some of those thoughts and actions may be it is refreshing to read about callousness and selfishness and self pity. Not because they are admirable traits in themselves of course but because every single one of us feels them at one time or another and can therefore empathise and feel a connection that is impossible when characters, as is increasingly the way with some authors nowadays, are made to utter banalities that aim at offending no one and only manage to irritate. Another of her talent is the way (and I don't know how she does it) I always feel for those people in her books who are severely flawed. Instead of judging and being repelled the reader is drawn to feel compassion and to understand, in some respects, how it all came to be.
    The book deals with the repercussions of an act(immoral but not criminal and that should have remained private) when it all goes wrong. MP Ivor Tesham has an affair with a married woman and let's say that they like to add some 'piquancy' to their lovemaking. When his mistress 's birthday comes round he has an idea. He will hire two men to mock abduct her, gag her and have them bring her to him. This will be her birthday present.But when the car those two men were driving causes a terrible crash, his mistress Hebe dies and so does one of the 'abductors'. The other one has suffered terrible injuries but he may recover and tell what he knows. There is also, plain Jane Atherton who used to be Hebe's friend and who provided alibis for her. She doesn't know it all but enough to make Ivor's life unpleasant and her own humdrum existence more exciting if she chose to blackmail him. A clever tale about deceit, power, loneliness, callousness and so much more, it is an exciting read that I can only highly recommend.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Simon Clarke
    4.0 out of 5 stars Barbara Vine--The Birthday Present
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 September 2008
    Verified Purchase
    The Birthday Present is Ruth Rendell's 13th novel writing as
    Barbara Vine,and is set during the tail-end of Thatcher's government.
    It concerns an ambitious rising star in her government,who is also
    something of a philanderer with 'lively' sexual preferences.He arranges a birthday present for his lover, an attractive young married woman,
    which consists in arranging for her to be kidnapped ,gagged and bound and delivered to his sister's residence.Things do not go to plan,and the tense plot involves cover-ups and subterfuge until a few years later much of the truth is revealed with dire consequences.
    Whilst this is a gripping tale,full of suspense,superbly written and constructed,and well worth reading, for me it lacked the consummate psychological acuity of the very best of Barbara Vine.
    20 people found this helpful
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  • Tigerclaw
    3.0 out of 5 stars The Birthday Present Unwraps Lies and Other Issues
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 June 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Ivor Tesham is a young MP and junior cabinet member in the early 1990's Conservative government . He is a rising star who is having an affair with Hebe Furnal.

    Hebe is a couple years younger and is a mother with a young son in a unhappy marriage.

    Ivor and Hebe's relationship is built on acting out fantasy's and neither have any love for the other.

    For her Birthday Ivor has arranged for a couple of men to bundle her into a vehicle whilst she is walking along the street. She is then tied up and gagged and to be taken to Ivor. However, the gift wrapped present does not reach its destination.

    When the media makes this headline news. Like a true Tory Ivan does his utmost to keep his name free from scandal.

    This would work well on television and could show more of the other characters who I have not mentioned here in this review.

    Although there is an MP central to this story this is not a Political novel.
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  • Mrs. P. Carter
    5.0 out of 5 stars what an amazing booking
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 June 2014
    Verified Purchase
    This is a real page turner. Unusual in that it has two narrators-confusing at first as the voices change without warning. The plot is complex and intricate and superbly teased out. Read faster and faster as it progressed. I felt the finale was predictable but not predicted within the text. However that does not detract from it in any way. A large number of characters not all of whom are drawn deeply - correct as in keeping with the double narrative voices.

    This book made me want to devour more Barbara Vine work.

    Next please.
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  • Shopper54
    4.0 out of 5 stars Not a suspense thriller but still classic B. Vine
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 May 2013
    Verified Purchase
    I have never encountered a Barbara Vine book that was easy to put down, and this one is no exception. Although there is a murder, this book is not a thriller, and not as plot-driven as many Vine novels. But it does have many elements of suspense. The author creates two main characters, and we watch them slowly succumbing to wrong turnings and obsessions that eventually destroy their lives.

    I like that the author did not use this book as a platform for her own political persuasions, but showed much sympathy and insight into the Tory MP she created, and made him a three-dimensional human being with dignity at his heart.

    One scene did not ring true: The incident where Pandora wants to discuss the pearl necklace with Jane. I don't want to teach my grandmother to suck eggs, but why on earth would P not want to mention the pearls to hubby? I would have shown him the pearls and said 'wow, these are valuable, should we discuss what we are going to do with them?' Or 'Did you give Hebe these for a special occasion?'

    Also where the narrating character changes I would have liked the chapter to be headed with the narrating character's name rather than leaving the reader floundering.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Meg
    5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 July 2020
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    I read a lot of novels . To read one by such an accomplished writer is to feel you are in safe hands & can relax. The story is told in an interesting way, switching between points of view, so keeping the reader alert. Highly recomended.
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • べやんちゃん
    5.0 out of 5 stars 相変わらずのバーバラ・バイン節
    Reviewed in Japan on 22 November 2017
    Verified Purchase
    ルース・レンデルとバーバラ・バイン、2つのペンネームを使い分けている著者だが、傾向として「レンデル」は問題解決型、「バイン」は不穏な空気が続く、という印象があり、The Birthday Presentは正に「不穏」が最初から最後まで続く。決して後味の良い本ではないのに、いつもバインの本は「この不穏な空気はどうにかならないのか」「どうなるんだ」と結局最後まで読ませてしまうのだからすごい。
    いわゆるミステリの要素としての「殺人」は起こらない、浮気をする政治家がいてその愛人が事故死をする。事件性としてそれだけである。その後、政治家本人、義兄、愛人の後釜を狙った女性、のそれぞれの思惑が徐々に徐々に悪い方へと進んでいく。こうなる前に次善策を打っておけば良かったのに、とつい思ってしまうのだが、そうしない／そうできない、人間の心理の不思議さに魅了される。
    ルース・レンデルとバーバラ・バインはどちらも2000年以降の作品が日本語訳されていないので、仕方ないのでのろのろと英語を読むハメになっている。是非日本語訳を出して欲しいものである。
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  • Lambie5
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great characters, wonderful voice as narrator
    Reviewed in the United States on 31 October 2014
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    Page turner by Ruth Rendall writing as Barbara Vines. Great characters, wonderful voice as narrator, well drawn characters set in London. Hilarious English parliament character!
    Have already recommended it and loaned it out.
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  • NiniG
    4.0 out of 5 stars una soddisfacente Barbara Vine
    Reviewed in Italy on 10 March 2016
    Verified Purchase
    un buon giallo con il giusto grado di suspence.
    anche se per me il migliore in assoluto (della Rendell sotto pseudonimo Barbara Vine) resta "King Solomon's Carpet".
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  • Kater Murr
    5.0 out of 5 stars Vine wird ihrem Renommee erneut gerecht...
    Reviewed in Germany on 13 May 2009
    Verified Purchase
    Ivor Teshams politische Karriere zur Zeit der Thatcher-Regierung beschreibt eine steile Kurve nach oben, auch dann noch, als seine Gespielin für Schäferstündchen der etwas ausgefalleneren Art unerwartet und auf spektakuläre Weise ums Leben kommt. Da Tesham die Affäre streng geheim hielt, geht äußerlich alles weiter seinen gewohnten Gang. Tesham steigt weiter auf, Polizei und Medien geraten auf falsche Fährten. Doch war die Affäre wirklich so geheim, wie viele Personen wussten tatsächlich von den Vorgängen, wer könnten Teshams Feinde, wer seine Freunde sein, welche Rolle spielen die zur Zeit der Handlung gehäuften IRA-Attentate? Tatsächlich ist nach dem Unfall von Teshams Gespielin Hebe nichts mehr wie es war, obwohl es im Verlauf der Handlung äußerlich zunächst keinen sichtbaren Einschnitt gibt.
    Das Unheil entwickelt sich (wie immer bei Vine) "klandestin" - im Englischen "clandestine", ein Wort, das offensichtlich ganz bewusst immer wieder verwendet wird. Dabei spielen zwei Erzählelemente eine wesentliche Rolle: die äußere Handlung, die mehr oder weniger durch einen Zufall plötzlich beschleunigt wird, wie auch die innere Entwicklung des Protagonisten, der sich allerdings in seiner unglaublichen Rücksichtslosigkeit selbst stets treu bleibt. So hat die Geschichte zwar kein spektakuläres Ende, lässt den Leser aber beinahe in Entsetzen zurück, da ihm gewissermaßen im Nachhinein klar wird, dass es einen Täter und damit auch eine Tat gibt (allerdings hat er es schon geahnt). Ein Gruselstück der ganz besonderen Art, was ja bekanntermaßen Vines Spezialität ist. Erzählt wird aus der Perspektive bzw. Retrospektive zweier Personen, die aus völlig entgegengesetzten "Gesellschafts-Klassen" stammen und Vine versteht es meisterhaft, die (in England immer noch bedeutsame) Trennung zweier Welten sprachlich und gedanklich wiederzugeben und den Verlauf der Handlung dementsprechend zu gestalten.
    Seit Ruth Rendell sich immer wieder in Barbara Vine verwandelt, besteht auch die Gefahr, süchtig nach ihren ausgefeilten "Psycho-Geschichten" zu werden. So manches Mal verwischen sich die Grenzen allerdings: Rendell scheint es - ähnlich wie Jekyll und Hyde - nicht immer in der Hand zu haben, wann sie sich in wen verwandelt. Eines kennzeichnet Vine allerdings stets: die ausgefeilte Sprache, die sie scheinbar mühelos den jeweiligen Protagonisten an- oder verpasst, je nachdem. Immer wieder großartig sind dabei ihre sehr detaillierten Schilderungen von gesellschaftlichen Gegeben- und Gepflogenheiten, ihr Einfühlungsvermögen in die Denkweise von Privilegierten und Underdogs, und sie zeigt dabei in raffinierter Weise, was alle verbindet: das "ganz normale Menschsein", was immer man darunter verstehen mag. Dabei wertet Vine nicht, sie versucht keine Sympathien zu wecken, noch verdammt sie - ein für meine Begriffe großartiger Kunstgriff, um ihre Leser zum Nachdenken und zur eigenen Urteilsbildung anzuregen.
    Ruth Rendell sitzt als Peer für die Labourparty im britischen Parlament, einer in ihrer Zusammensetzung und Funktionsweise für unsere Verhältnisse beinahe unverständlichen Institution (was sie selbst in ihrem Buch einmal erwähnt). Gerade deshalb machen ihre Insider-Kenntnisse die Story noch ein wenig verwickelter, noch ein wenig mysteriöser, noch ein wenig englischer - und interessanter. England ist nicht Europa, aber Europäer sind doch immer wieder fasziniert von diesem Volk von Individualisten, nicht zuletzt auf literarischem Gebiet.
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  • Joan Rogers
    4.0 out of 5 stars One Regrettable, Indelible Mistake
    Reviewed in the United States on 20 September 2017
    Verified Purchase
    This deftly written exploration of the shock-wave repercussions of one mishandled mistake has all the hallmarks of Barbara Vine/Ruth Rendell's best work, including razor-sharp prose and a talent for quick and effective character studies. But most of all, she has a gift for showing how people writhe and fight against societal constraints, while still remaining sadly straitjacketed by them.

    "The Birthday Present" is the story of up-and-coming parliamentarian Ivor Tesham and the unfortunate incident that befalls his mistress, Hebe Furnal, when he arranges a little adventure for her. The story is told in alternating first-person narratives by Ivor's brother-in-law Rob, and Hebe's friend Jane. One of the most interesting things about the story is the infinite number of points at which, if someone had just given a clear explanation rather than being inhibited by fear of public shaming, a whole series of tragedies could have been avoided. Although the story is entertaining, it's also a meditation on the ways in which the emotional/psychological cannibalism of the public makes it difficult, if not impossible, for people in the spotlight to be the honest, straightforward figures we want them to be.

    Rob and Jane are both unreliable narrators in their own way, and the one fault of the book is its heavy-handedness about certain aspects of the narrators' personalities...toward the end, I started to feel that they were One Note Johnnies, to the detriment of more nuanced development. However, the characters whom they are observing/reporting about have more satisfactory and subtle character arcs.

    Overall, a satisfying hybrid of psychological/suspense thriller and literary fiction--recommended.
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