The Prime Minister

Nov 29, 2025 7:51 AM

Author:Anthony Trollope,David Skilton,David Skilton,David Skilton

The Prime Minister

Plantaganet Palliser, Prime Minister of England - a man of power and prestige, with all the breeding and inherited wealth that goes with it - is appalled at the inexorable rise of Ferdinand Lopez. An exotic impostor, seemingly from nowhere, Lopez has society at his feet, while well-connected ladies vie with each other to exert influence on his behalf - even Palliser's own wife, Lady Glencora. But when the interloper makes a socially advantageous marriage, Palliser must decide whether to stand by his wife's support for Lopez in a by-election or leave him to face exposure as a fortune-hunting adventurer. A novel of social, sexual and domestic politics, The Prime Minister raises one of the most enduring questions in government - whether a morally scrupulous gentleman can make an effective leader.

Reviews

'She writes like an angel and thinks like the devil. Joughin is a major discovery'

—— Fay Weldon

'An exciting new talent'

—— Sunday Telegraph

'Sheena Joughin has an unusual clarity of voice and a crafty duality, something both brooding and light, in her writing. The hurts and nastinesses between her characters are paralleled with a casual persistence of good nature and good humour in this funny, piercing book about lostness, childishness and growing up'

—— Ali Smith , The Times Literary Supplement

'Very funny, very edgy, very acute. I love this book'

—— Julie Burchill

'[Joughin] is already a mistress of mordant comedy... a talent to watch'

—— Daily Mail

'Joughin has a merciless eye for unflattering detail and for the insecurities of both sexes ... extremely funny'

—— Daily Telegraph

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