Stonehouse

Cabinet Minister, Fraudster, Spy

Stonehouse
Julian Hayes
RRP:
NZ$ 77.99
Our Price:
NZ$ 64.34
Hardback
h240 x 156mm - 384pg
29 Jul 2021 UK
International import eta 10-19 days
9781472146540
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
' Completely absorbing and told with huge compassion, integrity and skill' CAROL ANN LEE, author of The Murders at White House Farm and A Passion For Poison' What a book. I didn' t have to turn the pages. They turned themselves I literally consumed the book in just a few hungry sittings . . . Julian Hayes is perfectly placed to tell this story, particularly it' s captivating human side . . . most definitely a must read' DR SALEYHA AHSAN, filmmaker and journalist, CambridgeIn November 1974, British MP and former cabinet minister John Stonehouse walked into the sea off a beach in Miami and disappeared, seemingly drowned. Then he was found - on the other side of the world, in Australia - and his extraordinary story began to come to light: a Labour cabinet minister and a devoted family man; also in a long-term affair with his secretary, and a spy for the Czech State Security agency, who had committed fraud and attempted to fake his own death to escape catastrophic business failures. Was it a mental breakdown as he later claimed? Or were there more sinister reasons for his dramatic disappearance? This is the definitive biography of Stonehouse, written by Julian Hayes, who, as the son of Stonehouse' s nephew and lawyer, Michael Hayes, is uniquely placed to tell the story of this charismatic but deeply flawed politician. As a criminal lawyer in London, Hayes has used his in-depth knowledge and experience of the criminal courts, not least the Old Bailey, where the Stonehouse trial took place, to forensically examine Stonehouse' s story, including Czech defector Josef Frolik' s claim that he was a spy. Hayes has unearthed secret reports in the archives in Prague written by Stonehouse' s former spymasters. He has also gleaned much from family members and lawyers involved in the trial and from the trial documents and other government papers held in archives in the UK and Australia.
What a book - and what a character. I loved every minute . . . I should imagine that had Stonehouse' s life story occurred to John Le Carre as a plot for one of his novels, he would have dismissed it as too far-fetched. Completely absorbing and told with huge compassion, integrity and skill. Stonehouse was ahead of his times in many ways, yet decadent, deceitful but also very engaging and intelligent . . . it' s really the power of his personality that drives the book, which is ripe for dramatic interpretation of some kind, either television or film. Julian Hayes is a born storyteller too, and his family certainly gifted him with a remarkable story that lingers long after the final reading. -- Carol Ann Lee, author of The Murders at White House Farm and A Passion For Poison What a book. I didn' t have to turn the pages. They turned themselves . . . Julian' s sharp, succinct writing weaves fact and detail together into a captivating narrative . . . the authentic truth from the perspective of one who was a witness. Julian Hayes is perfectly placed to tell this story . . . His legal expertise makes sense of criminal proceedings, but while he beautifully lays out the factual detail, it is the human side of this very personal story that is so captivating. Some of this obtained through conversations with his family but also the recollections of a young Julian, who witnessed much of what is shared through the innocent eyes of a child. This is most definitely a must read. -- Dr Saleyha Ahsan, filmmaker and journalist, Cambridge
JULIAN HAYES is a criminal and child-care lawyer with his firm, Berris Law, in London. He has undertaken many of the most high-profile and serious cases seen in the criminal courts of the last twenty years, most notably the ' Ricin Case' terrorist trial in 2005, the Graff jewellery robbery and most recently the Vietnamese lorry deaths case.
Status: Active
ISBN-13: 9781472146540
Published: 29 Jul 2021
Published In: United Kingdom
Imprint: Robinson
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Format: Hardback
Height: 240mm
Width: 156mm
Weight: 41g
Pages: 384

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