First Among Equals

First Among Equals - Jeffrey Archer I found this a completely absorbing read from the beginning. I'm not sure what a British reader would make of it, but as an American and admitted anglophile, I found it fascinating to get a look inside Britain's parliamentary system and politics by following four characters who aspire to be the "first among equals"--the Prime Minister. Archer himself was a member of parliament, so there's an authority and sympathy to his depiction of the wheeling and dealing and temptations of the office. The prologue gives us the background of the four men we'll be following. Blue blood Charles Seymour is the son of an Earl and a Tory, as is self-made man Simon Kerslake. The Scottish Andrew Fraser was born to politics--into a conservative family, but he winds up in the Labour Party. Raymond Gould from Yorkshire, another Labour Party MP, comes from a humble background--but has brilliance and ambition to burn. I definitely had my favorites from the beginning--I certainly found both Simon Kerslake on the Tory side and Andrew Fraser on the Labour side more likable than their rivals. Fraser's story at one point even came close to moving me to tears. Although Gould had his moments and gradually grew on me. And even Seymour turns out to have a redeeming quality and Kerslake and Fraser their flaws and temptations. Several lines in the book were really witty and striking, and I was amused by the political cartoons included in the edition I read. I found watching the four men's tightrope act at the heights of power as suspenseful as any action-laden thriller. I didn't much like Archer's Kane and Abel, but this book I enjoyed a lot. One thing some readers may find jarring. Though the book follows events until 1991, it was published in 1984, which makes for some goofs when Archer's crystal ball showed cracks. (For one, American President Gary Hart.) I have to admit though--I'm not just an anglophile but a political junkie--one who worked as a campaign staffer and political science was my college major. So I can imagine those less interested in politics might be less entranced.