A dramatic, gripping account of the rise and fall of the notorious business tycoon Robert Maxwell.
John Preston is a former Arts Editor of the Evening Standard and the Sunday Telegraph. For ten years he was the Sunday Telegraph's television critic and one of its chief feature writers. His novel, The Dig, based on the 1939 archaeological excavation at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, has been filmed starring Ralph Fiennes, Carey Mulligan and Lily James. His first nonfiction book, A Very English Scandal, was published to great acclaim in 2016 and turned into BAFTA-winning BBC drama series. His latest book, Fall, tells the story of the rise and fall of the politician and business magnate Robert Maxwell.
'This is the best biography yet of the media magnate Robert
Maxwell - by turns engrossing, amusing and appalling... it
slips down as richly, easily and pleasurably as a tablespoonful of
Beluga caviar' -- Robert Harris * Sunday Times *
'Electrifying... the supreme chronicler of modern British
scandals'
* Mail on Sunday *
'This is such a richly detailed, well-written, gripping biography I
wished it could have been twice as long' -- Lynn Barber * Daily
Telegraph *
'I have a shelf full of books about frauds, but this one is by far
the most enjoyable. By turns self-righteous and revolting, Maxwell
makes the perfect villain' -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday *
'Any good biography of a mountebank depicts not only its subject
but also the ambivalent society that accommodated the monster. John
Preston's Fall does this with deft understatement ...
Preston's A Very English Scandal used an almost novelistic
eye to revive a well-worn scandal. Fall is equally
satisfying' -- Quentin Letts * The Times *
'An absorbing profile of the war hero turned rogue ... Preston
comes to his subject with the advantage both of hindsight and his
great skill at exposing hypocrisy and subterfuge ... he has an eye
for the telling detail and an ear for the revealing quote' *
Observer, Book of the Week *
'There have been many books written about Robert Maxwell, but
surely none as pacy, entertaining and jaw-dropping as this one...
yes, this is quite a book' * Daily Mail *
'Preston has written a wonderfully entertaining book and
interviewed almost everyone who crossed Maxwell's path in his
heyday. He has an eye for comedy and drama and, where he explains
his subject's shady and dauntingly complex business dealings, he
does so clearly and succinctly' * New Statesman *
'Irresistible page-turning pace ... what emerges from Fall
is a vividly grotesque picture of the emperor showing off his
nonexistent new clothes to an applauding crowd of courtiers -
politicians, editors, bankers - who all too willingly suspended any
disbelief they may have felt' -- Francis Wheen * Spectator *
'John Preston's book Fall, a recounting of the life of one
of the most extraordinary figures in British corporate life, is
timely ... almost 30 years since Maxwell died at sea in unexplained
circumstances, it is possible to look back on his story and the
fraud as a great, sweeping whole, a bridge from the second world
war to the last years of the media barons before the internet began
... Preston tells the story well ... its strength is in telling the
grand sweep of an extraordinary life' * Financial Times *
'Vivid ... Preston (has a) gift for the kind of wry comedy that
suits English decline' * Guardian, Book of the Day *
'John Preston's research for this terrific biography is extensive;
he interviewed three of Maxwell's children and his sister. But he
also presents a large character at the heart of a gripping novel
which happens to be true' * Evening Standard *
'Thanks to Preston's fine writing, Fall fizzes along at pace
and is engrossing as it charts Maxwell's astonishing life - and how
he came to be so widely reviled' * i *
'John Preston tells [the story of Maxwell] with great verve and the
benefit of extensive interviews with, among others, Maxwell's
one-time rival Rupert Murdoch... the portrait that emerges is more
subtly drawn than previous ones' * Economist *
'John Preston brings the old crook and liar magnificently to life
in this sparkling biography... this beautifully written book
provides many moments of high and low comedy... Preston's sharp eye
for the ridiculous and the piquant conjures up a lost Fleet Street
world' * Jewish Chronicle *
'Preston is a natural storyteller' -- The Times
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