Mr Nice and Mrs Marks - Softcover

Judy Marks

Softcover

ISBN 10: 009190918X ISBN 13: 9780091909185

Publisher: Ebury & Vermilion, 2006

Synopsis

Howard Marks's story has passed into hippie folklore. At one time, the world's then most wanted man had 43 aliases, 89 phone lines and 25 registered companies. Thanks to the technical brilliance of his networking skills, it was estimated that he was trafficking as much as a tenth of all the marijuana smoked in the world. But this is only half the story. Intimately involved throughout was Marks's wife Judy. Now, for the first time, she tells her own side of the tale. Judy was already involved in the hippie drug underworld before she met Howard. Her sister Natasha became a smuggler and served time for it in Mexico, while her eldest brother Patrick was involved in a number of scams himself and eventually became, among other things, Howard's accountant and money-launderer. Rather than the shrinking wife at home, Judy was involved with the drug-running scams and often had to act as money courier and go-between abroad when Howard was stuck without a passport or identity. As if his absences were not difficult enough for the family, Judy spent eighteen months in jail herself. From living the high life hobnobbing with movie stars and euro trash to mixing it with the IRA and CIA, then the long, increasingly desperate years on the run, Mr. Nice and Mrs. Marks is about the exhilaration of their criminal life and the hell of not knowing what's happening when your husband stops telling you the truth and your life is steaming out of control. It is also a love story, and together Judy and Howard come across like a hippie Bonnie and Clyde. Far more than a retelling of Howard's story, this is a warm, touching and often funny account of Judy's unique role in an extraordinary husband-and-wife double act that spanned over three decades.

About this title

About the Author:

'I have long wanted to write a book about my life and the extraordinary years I spent with my husband Howard Marks. I feel now is the time. I want to write it from a woman's perspective and describe what it was like to be married to such a charismatic drug smuggler.' Judy Marks was born in Hertfordshire. She met Howard Marks in 1972 at a dinner party in Brighton when she was 16 and he was 27. They became a couple shortly afterwards, and after waiting until they could be wedded using their real names, not aliases, eventually married in 1980. Judy spent years on the run with Howard around the world and, when the authorities finally caught up with him for the last time, five long years waiting for his release, which came at last in 1995. They have two daughters and a son.

Review:

"Utterly gripping" * Elle * "A unique insight into the couple's highs and lows ... An endearing and fascinating read" -- Faye Hannah * Big Issue * "Reveals the rollercoaster ride of being married to the world's most notorious hash smuggler" * TNT Magazine * "Puts forward an alternative view of Howard Marks' life and illustrates how a young woman can be easily blinded by love" * Financial Times * "A frank and engaging tale" * Sunday Express *

About this edition

• Publisher: Ebury & Vermilion
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 009190918X
• ISBN 13: 9780091909185
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320