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Kitchen Venom (2003) - Simon - 05-22-2026
"Political intrigue, sexual chicanery, disappointment, betrayal" combine with "dazzling" effect (Jane Shilling, The Sunday Telegraph) in this scandalous novel that exposed the secrets of Margaret Thatcher's government—as narrated by the Iron Lady herself.
As a senior clerk in the House of Commons, John is a man of gravitas, a well-respected widower with two grown-up daughters, who upholds establishmentarian codes of morality and decency. What his colleagues don't know is that he harbors a secret predilection for rent boys. Afternoon assignations in his current squeeze's discreet Earl's Court flat are one thing, but when his reputation, his job, and his relationship with his friends and family are all threatened, John takes desperate measures to protect himself. Set during the last days of Margaret Thatcher's premiership, and ingeniously narrated by an all-knowing incarnation of the Prime Minister herself, Kitchen Venom is a lethally entertaining story of sex, secrets, and scandal.
WINNER OF A SOMERSET MAUGHAM AWARD 1997 -- A stunning novel of political life, betrayal and passion, which lifts the lid on vice within the Palace of Westminster ... and cost Hensher his job as a House of Commons clerk. 'At the centre of this book is John, a distinguished widower with a hump, two daughters, and an important job in the House of Commons. He also has a fondness for visiting rent boys in the afternoons, and a passion for secrecy... Sharp and funny... a beautifully polished performance.' Times Literary Supplement
'Sex, politics and death are the classic themes of Hensher's original novel. Set in Parliament at the time of the fall of Margaret Thatcher, it follows the disintegration of the family of a Commons clerk... Hensher is both sharp and melancholic. Here he is on Thatcher: When she walked she seemed to extinguish a cigarette beneath every pace; in her walk, it could be seen that she was in the right.' Observer
'Incisive characterisation, first-class dialogue... Set amid the wigs and gowns of parliamentary officialdom, Philip Hensher's second novel exposes the hidden tensions in apparently banal lives.' Sunday Telegraph