Historical
General Haig, Noël Coward, Butch Cassidy, Margaret Thatcher’s bloomers and a racehorse strongly resembling Shergar feature in So Last Century, the new collection of astute and witty stories from award-winning journalist and author Charles Nevin.
General Haig, Noël Coward, Butch Cassidy, Margaret Thatcher’s bloomers and a racehorse strongly resembling Shergar feature in So Last Century, the new collection of astute and witty stories from award-winning journalist and author Charles Nevin.
So Last Century begins with Edward VII on a tricky country house visit and ends with one of the first national lottery winners struggling with fame, fortune and romance. On the way you’ll meet music hall entertainers in the First World War and two remarkable double agents in the Second, get raided in a 1920s London night club, take part in some lively coronation celebrations, and discover what really might have happened when the World Cup was stolen in 1966. Be warned: after this, you will never view the twentieth century in quite the same way again…
Here's what readers have to say about this book....
This is an absolute gem of a book from a clearly very talented author which had me chuckling out loud from the very first pages right through to the end. Each of the ten stories is set in a different decade from the 1900s onwards and features some very memorable and famous events and names from history, although maybe not quite in the same ways as some of us remember them! My favourites, I think, (although it was a very close call as all of them were excellent in their own way) was the “truth” about the theft of the World Cup in 1966 (or should that be Wrold?!) and a hitherto unknown wonderfully Woodhouse-esque meeting between King Edward VII and Eliza Doolittle (she of G.B. Shaw’s Pygmalion and My Fair Lady fame). I loved the Afterword following each chapter which filled in the reader on the back history of each of main characters. Note to self, I must google John Bindon! Original, beautifully written and perfect for a lunchtime chapter and chortle each day. So different, so clever and most definitely so enjoyable, I loved it!!
