Failed in London, Tried Hongkong: 

The tale of British expats abroad in Hong Kong, Lawyers in Love

Book Review: Jane Gardam Trilogy:

Lovers of English literature will enjoy the trilogy of books by Jane Gardam written in 2004, 2009, and 2013. These @EuropaEditions were recommended by @DeepVellumBooks which is a Dallas (non-profit) bookseller and publisher, from whom I purchased Vol. 1 for $20.00.

As we currently observe the political divide between nationalism and globalism, these books unfold with a backdrop of the historiography of the (declining) post-war British Empire, including a unique view of the colonialism, imperialism, mercantilism, and the legal-economic culture of expat lawyers abroad.

Author Jane Gardam takes the story of a love “triangle” of sorts, to Hong Kong and back to the "Donheads" of Southwest England, near Dorset. The trilogy’s emotional landscape plays out between two rivals and one eccentric woman, but Gardam’s immense talent as a writer fully illustrates and explicates many other quirky English characters from the Queen, all the way to the crazy town mail carrier.

The opening saga is entitled “Old Filth” about an English lawyer who, “Failed in London, Tried Hongkong,” or FILTH, as an acronym. “Last Friends” ties up the cast and their inter-woven lives in book 3, including 70 years of complicated friendships; however, as successful and dominant as these uppercrust Brits appear, like the British Empire, they often took wrong turns by making foolish decisions.

The second and third novels in the sequence are not so much sequels or “prequels” to the first, as they are augmentations, or different POVs. As the trilogy advances, the supporting characters from Old Filth emerge with their own life histories, altering, and occasionally exploding the first understanding of what occurred in the opening book FILTH. But to quote Gardam, there are “no minor characters” in life nor in these books.

Surprisingly easy to read despite my lack of knowledge of this particular niche of English culture, still I constantly looked up the meanings to “Brit” words, and sometimes didn’t understand their profession despite my own legal training. Empathetic writing kept my interest, sometimes relating to the characters, often feeling sorry for them,  but any anglophile would give these books ***** out of 5-stars!

Heaven and Hell - by John Jakes - 3rd book in Civil War Trilogy (review)

Heaven and Hell - John Jakes - Google Books:

'via Blog this'

Most recent book review written May 23, 2012:

After writing a series of Kent Family Chronicles in the 1970s, author John Jakes (b. 1932-) became the Godfather of Historical Fiction by penning a highly acclaimed Civil War Trilogy in the 1980s, all of which made it to #1 on the best-seller lists. This is a review/recommendation of the series.

The saga was also made into a popular ABC-TV mini-series (remember young Patrick Swayze and Lesley-Anne Down in 1985?). The first novel North and South was about the grinding build-up to Ft. Sumter and the battle for States’ rights over Federal power, but also set up nicely the full cast of characters that play out over the next two novels. 

The second book,  Love and War was about the tumultuous war years, full of blood-soaked action and romance; and the final volume, Heaven and Hell (which I just finished) proves that the Civil War wasn’t just about slavery, money, and power. 

The final book uses a very accurate portrayal of “Redemptive Reconstruction” as it was called, to paint a picture of the depravity and chaos unleashed on the post-war society. It thoroughly digs into a post-traumatic culture, its lost innocence, and how wounds and economies tried to heal in the postbellum South. 

Most central however, are the human relationships broken and the psychological carnage inflicted by a War between States to families, brothers, cousins, lovers. By the third volume, the fully-developed characters play out their dramatic conclusions in the United States now completely different after the war, than it was antebellum. 

Unfortunately, Jakes gives a reader glimpses of an ill-formed modernity proceeding after 1877. Even though the actors play out more melodrama than historical drama, Jakes works hard to weave actual events into every chapter; with plenty of conflict to keep the reader interested. 10 million copies of these books are now in print. This series is 5 ***** out of 5. (Vol. 3 by HBJ ©1987)

©Mark H. Pillsbury