Splash!: A Novel - Hardcover

Glover, Stephen Steve-O

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1472126335 ISBN 13: 9781472126337

Publisher: Constable, 2018

Synopsis

'I thoroughly enjoyed Splash! It's a delicious confection of excellent plotting, an inventively bonkers cast of characters, subtle insights into the world of newspapers and a satisfying ending which invokes the great Evelyn Waugh's masterpiece, Scoop. A fine comedy of manners by a writer who knows the media inside out' BEL MOONEY

Sam Blunt is a drunken, broken-down tabloid reporter, working for a once-mighty newspaper struggling to come to terms with the digital age.

With the assistance of Benedict, an earnest though clever wet-behind-the-ears young intern on the paper, Sam grapples to uncover the story of the century which reveals the political corruption and cynicism at the heart of a rotten Establishment.

As they try to nail the story amid a series of capers, Sam and Benedict are frustrated by the self-serving proprietor of the Daily Bugle, various self-appointed do-gooders who want to rein in the Press, and Trevor Yapp, the malign and untrustworthy editor of Bugle Online.

Splash! is a satire of the Press and politics in a modern London peopled by a Chinese billionaire would-be press proprietor, a worldly bishop, neglected immigrants, a corrupt and plaintive Prime Minister, and journalists who are often most interested in doing one another down.

Yet however self-serving newspapers may sometimes be, Sam and Benedict are ultimately on the side of the angels as they battle to write their triumphant story.

About this title

About the Author

Stephen Glover was co-founder of The Independent and the founding editor of The Independent on Sunday. He has worked as a columnist for the Evening Standard, Daily Telegraph, Spectator and Independent, and now writes a column for the Daily Mail and the Oldie. He is the author of Paper Dreams, about the founding of The Independent, and was editor of The Penguin Book of Journalism. Two of his short stories have recently been published by Amazon Singles.

Review

Splash! has the pace and wit of Tom Sharpe at his Porterhouse best and the mournfulness of Michael Frayn's Towards the End of the Morning . . . captures the thrill of the newsroom―Laura Freeman, Standpoint

Written in Waugh's style, Splash! imitates his practice of giving characters expressively comic names . . . Glover clearly enjoyed writing it and I enjoyed reading it . . . Glover's novel is an apologia for tabloid journalism and a celebration of its role in exposing corruption among the elite―Peter Wilby, New Statesman

Veteran insider's sharp, timely satire on the newspaper business―Daily Mail

Very funny, also poignant in places, and merits favourable comparison with Evelyn Waugh's classic newspaper novel, Scoop, but this time in the digital age―Carole Dawson Young, Tribune

Utterly brilliant and irresistible―Amol Rajan, former editor of The Independent

Thoroughly enjoyable . . . Glover hits the mark with uncanny accuracy . . . A rollicking good read―Journalist

The spirit of Scoop, Evelyn Waugh's satirical novel about the newspaper world, hovers over Stephen Glover's satire of 21st-century journalism . . . a pacy story of murky ministerial shenanigans, late lunches and love in the afternoon . . . Those in the know will enjoy identifying the characters in this sprightly roman-a-clef, while everyone can relish the all too convincing twists of Glover's neatly plotted narrative―Daily Mail

Potentially Splash! could do more for restoring public confidence in newspapers than sanctimonious leader articles from big publishers . . . Splash! might also remind owners and editors [of newspapers] of the public good they can do when at their best―Ian Burrell, i

Plot twists aplenty propel this veteran insider's sharp, timely satire on the newspaper business in a corrupt, cynical London swilling with oligarchs―Mail on Sunday

I would recommend it to anyone without reservation . . . very funny―Andrew Rosenheim

About this edition

• Publisher: Constable
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1472126335
• ISBN 13: 9781472126337
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272