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Book Cover for: The Proof of My Innocence, Jonathan Coe

The Proof of My Innocence

Jonathan Coe

Critic Reviews

Good

Based on 9 reviews on

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A blisteringly funny political critique wrapped up in a murder mystery, from one of Britain's most beloved novelists


Post-university life doesn't suit Phyl. Time passes slowly living back home with her parents, working a zero-hour contract serving Japanese food to tourists at Heathrow's Terminal 5. As for her budding plans of becoming a writer, those are going nowhere.


That is, until family friend Chris comes to stay. He's been on the path to uncover a sinister think-tank, founded at Cambridge University in the 1980s, that's been scheming to push the British government in a more extreme direction. One that's finally poised to put their plans into action. But speaking truth to power can be dangerous--and power will stop at nothing to stay on top.


As Britain finds itself under the leadership of a new Prime Minister whose tenure will only last for seven weeks, Chris pursues his story to a conference being held deep in the Cotswolds, where events take a sinister turn and a murder enquiry is soon in progress. But will the solution to the mystery lie in contemporary politics, or in a literary enigma that is almost forty years old?


Darting between decades and genres, The Proof of My Innocence is a wickedly funny and razor-sharp new novel from one of Britain's most beloved novelists, showing how the key to understanding the present can often be found in the murkiest corners of the past.


Book Details

  • Publisher: Europa Editions
  • Publish Date: Apr 15th, 2025
  • Pages: 368
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 8.20in - 5.20in - 1.30in - 0.85lb
  • EAN: 9798889660910
  • Categories: Mystery & Detective - GeneralPoliticalWorld Literature - England - 21st Century

About the Author

Coe, Jonathan: - Jonathan Coe was born in 1961 in Lickey, a suburb of south-west Birmingham. His first novel, The Accidental Woman was published in 1987. His best-selling novels include What a Carve Up! and The Rotters' Club (2001). He is the recipient of many prizes and awards, including both Costa Novel of the Year and Prix du Livre Européen. He won France's Prix Médicis for The House of Sleep and Italy's Premio Flaiano and Premio Bauer-Ca' Foscari.

Critics’ reviews

Praise for this book

"Probably the best English novelist of his generation."--Nick Hornby

★ "Beautifully written and full of wisdom, this unusual and fascinating book contains many treats..."--Kirkus Review (starred review) on Mr. Wilder and Me

"...[a] poignant delineation of tradition and progress."--Booklist on Bournville

"A novel not just for movie lovers, but for anyone who favors sharp writing, subtle wit, deeply portrayed characters, and the elegiac."--The Arts Fuse on Mr. Wilder and Me

"Coe shows an understanding of this country that goes beyond what most cabinet ministers can muster...he is a master of satire but pokes fun subtly, without ever being cruel, biting or blatant...his light, funny writing makes you feel better."--Evening Standard (UK)

"British novelists love to diagnose the state of the nation. Few do it better than Jonathan Coe, who writes with warmth and subversive glee about social change and the comforting mundanities it imperils."--Spectator (UK)