The Spectator

The Spectator Book Club

Mark Amory, Literary editor of The Spectator

Welcome to the new, online Spectator Book Club. There's plenty here for the bibliophiles among us - 'Book of the Month' recommendations; a discussion board; a directory of booksellers; and even regular live chats with figures from the world of literature. So put your latest read down for a second, and take a look around the Spectator's library.

Book of the month

Past Imperfect

Damian Baxter is hugely wealthy and dying. He lives alone in a big house in Surrey, looked after by a chauffeur, butler, cook and housemaid. He has but one concern - his fortune in excess of £500 million and who should inherit it on his death.

Past Imperfect is the story of a quest. Damian Barker wishes to know if he has a living heir. By the time he married in his late thirties he was sterile (the result of adult mumps), but what about before that unfortunate illness? He was not a virgin. Had he sired a child? A letter from a girlfriend from these times suggests he did. But the letter is anonymous.

Damian contacts someone he knew from their days at university. He gives him a list of girls he slept with and sets him a task: find his heir!

OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR

Snobs

Past Imperfect

ISBN 9780297855224

Discussion board

JOIN THE BOARD TO DISCUSSS THIS BOOK

Live chat

THE LIVE DEBATE WILL BE
AVAILABLE FROM/ON:

Coming Soon

Click here to access the Spectator Book Club Discussion Board - your corner of the Web for discussing all things literature-related. If you already have an account, sign in and you can start creating and replying to threads immediately. If you don't have an account, just sign up and join the debate!

On 14 November, the Spectator Book Club hosted a live chat with the Booker prize-nominated author Philip Hensher. Our next live chat with a figure from the world of literature will be announced shortly.