England, 1987. It's all-out war. Two universities in the same city each aim to destroy the other and take over one another's buildings, students and - above all - bank balance. At a time of austerity in public life and huge government cuts, the situation has become desperate and the respective university principals are prepared to fight very dirty indeed. Dr Lawford Chute of the revered Sedge University wants to expand, expand, expand, while the government is telling him to cut, cut, cut. But Dr Victor Tane of Charter Mill employs more covert methods to ensure his institution comes out on top. Who will win these ferocious academic fights and be the model for the statue in the modern-day university grounds: the ultimate proof of posterity for which both principals are battling?
This hilariously witty and highly topical satire on the comic absurdities and ruthless politics involved among Britain's elite academic institutions will appeal to fans of Tom Sharpe's Porterhouse Blue.
Bill James is a former journalist who worked for the Western Mail and South Wales Echo, The Daily Mirror and the Sunday Times. He is the author of the Harpur and Iles crime series, which are published all over the world. Protection, the fourth in the series, was televised by BBC 1 as Harpur and Iles, starring Hywel Bennett. Hollywood is currently negotiating for Halo Parade, number three.
James lives in his native South Wales and divides his time between his home near Cardiff and a caravan on the Pembrokeshire coast. He also writes under the name David Craig, most recently a series set around Cardiff docks, where he grew up. The Warner Brothers film, The Squeeze, with Stacy Keach, Edward Fox and Carol White was adapted from the David Craig novel, Whose Little Girl Are You?
He is married with four children. At present he is working on a sequel to Split, again featuring Simon Abelard. James is a part-time tutor in creative writing at the University of Wales, Cardiff.
Title: The Principals
Author: James, Bill
ISBN: 9781847517432
Binding:
Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd
Publication Date: 2017-06-30
Number of Pages: 176
Weight: 0.2461 kg
James can be entertaining, and he may stir warm memories of academic satires by Kingsley Amis, Mary McCarthy, or Randall Jarrell... Kirkus Reviews A droll, delightful, skillfully written piece of academic satire Booklist Starred Review Full disclosure: this reviewer is the daughter of a British history specialist, and this satirical look at the country's elite university culture is spot-on. James is bound to please fans of Sarah Caudwell or Robertson Davies Library Journal