{"title":"Philip Hensher","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePhilip Hensher\u003c\/strong\u003e crafts sharp, evocative tales that explore the intricacies of human relationships and social settings. His works, such as \u003cem\u003eKitchen Venom\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eTo Battersea Park\u003c\/em\u003e, often blend wit with a keen observation of everyday life, inviting readers to reflect on the complexities beneath ordinary experiences.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eExpect richly drawn characters and evocative prose that capture both the humour and pathos of contemporary existence. Hensher’s fiction offers a thoughtful and engaging journey through modern British life, appealing to readers who appreciate nuanced storytelling within general fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"to-battersea-park-by-philip-hensher-9780008323141","title":"To Battersea Park","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘A brilliantly conceived and audacious novel from one of our most consistently intelligent and beguiling writers’ William Boyd\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e‘Surefooted and emotionally generous … A serious achievement’ \u003cem\u003eGuardian\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e‘Masterful’ \u003cem\u003eTelegraph\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ‘A revelation’ \u003cem\u003eSpectator\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe new novel from the Booker shortlisted author of \u003cem\u003eThe Northern Clemency\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAn order is issued. A population may not meet, or touch or speak to each other. They stay inside, and the reality of a few streets in a capital city emerges. An underground river is discovered; an urban grove of pomeloes emerges. The imagination reaches out, and makes sense of the world. By the sea, two men walk into a future of uncertain violence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThere is time now to see the human dramas within a hundred yards (an abduction, a quiet breakdown, an outbreak of violence, a young mind beginning to stretch itself); to wait for the weather to change; to understand that what lies underneath this part of the city are seasonally wet pastures and woodlands.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWritten in four parts, \u003cem\u003eTo Battersea Park\u003c\/em\u003e explores the strata and sediment of a single place and time. It shows what brings us together, through love, through the clashes of what we want to do and what the world wants to do with us. Set in a large crowded city where we are forbidden to approach strangers, this is about what we share: humanity, imagination, and the love that emerges from many acts of telling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e‘Electrifying … works like this… allow the imagination to roam free and wild’ \u003cem\u003eObserver\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e‘Wise, ingenious and passionate’ \u003cem\u003eTLS\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e‘Magnificently succeeds in excavating the sedimentary layers of a neighbourhood in lockdown to reveal – hilariously, tenderly, shockingly – how we exist both in intimacy and ignorance of those we live among’ \u003cem\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e‘An engrossing human drama’ \u003cem\u003eThe Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e‘An imaginative tour de force’ Mick Herron, author of \u003cem\u003eBad Actors\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e‘An utterly engrossing skein of narratives, beautifully written and often disturbing’ Lissa Evans, author of \u003cem\u003eV for Victory\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Arotahi Agency","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46672519233772,"sku":"9780008323141","price":25.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/26151313482190.jpg?v=1752852516"},{"product_id":"to-battersea-park-by-philip-hensher-9780008323110","title":"To Battersea Park","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘A brilliantly conceived and audacious novel from one of our most consistently intelligent and beguiling writers’ — William Boyd\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e‘Surefooted and emotionally generous … A serious achievement’ — \u003cem\u003eGuardian\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e‘Masterful’ — \u003cem\u003eTelegraph\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e‘A revelation’ — \u003cem\u003eSpectator\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe new novel from the Booker shortlisted author of \u003cem\u003eThe Northern Clemency\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAn order is issued. A population may not meet, or touch, or speak to each other. They stay inside, and the reality of a few streets in a capital city emerges. An underground river is discovered; an urban grove of pomeloes emerges. The imagination reaches out and makes sense of the world. By the sea, two men walk into a future of uncertain violence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThere is time now to see the human dramas within a hundred yards (an abduction, a quiet breakdown, an outbreak of violence, a young mind beginning to stretch itself); to wait for the weather to change; to understand that what lies underneath this part of the city are seasonally wet pastures and woodlands.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWritten in four parts, \u003cem\u003eTo Battersea Park\u003c\/em\u003e explores the strata and sediment of a single place and time. It shows what brings us together, through love, through the clashes of what we want to do and what the world wants to do with us. Set in a large crowded city where we are forbidden to approach strangers, this is about what we share: humanity, imagination, and the love that emerges from many acts of telling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e‘Electrifying … works like this… allow the imagination to roam free and wild’ — \u003cem\u003eObserver\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e‘Wise, ingenious and passionate’ — \u003cem\u003eTLS\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e‘Magnificently succeeds in excavating the sedimentary layers of a neighbourhood in lockdown to reveal – hilariously, tenderly, shockingly – how we exist both in intimacy and ignorance of those we live among’ — \u003cem\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e‘An engrossing human drama’ — \u003cem\u003eThe Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e‘An imaginative tour de force’ — Mick Herron, author of \u003cem\u003eBad Actors\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e‘An utterly engrossing skein of narratives, beautifully written and often disturbing’ — Lissa Evans, author of \u003cem\u003eV for Victory\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Arotahi Agency","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46672520511724,"sku":"9780008323110","price":36.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/26151003482190.jpg?v=1752852628"},{"product_id":"kitchen-venom-by-philip-hensher-9781961341906","title":"Kitchen Venom","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePolitical intrigue, sexual chicanery, disappointment, betrayal\u003c\/em\u003e combine with \u003cem\u003edazzling\u003c\/em\u003e effect (Jane Shilling, \u003cem\u003eThe Sunday Telegraph\u003c\/em\u003e) in this scandalous novel that exposed the secrets of Margaret Thatcher’s government.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs 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 harbours 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, \u003cem\u003eKitchen Venom\u003c\/em\u003e is a lethally entertaining story of sex, secrets, and scandal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA sensation when it was published in the UK in 1996, \u003cem\u003eKitchen Venom\u003c\/em\u003e cost Philip Hensher his own job as a clerk in the British House of Commons – an achievement \u003cem\u003eall the more remarkable\u003c\/em\u003e, the \u003cem\u003eIndependent\u003c\/em\u003e noted, given the vehicle of this ruination was \u003cem\u003ea stunningly intelligent, assured and compelling novel\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e[An] elegant novel of poisoned love and intimate violence...Sharp and funny...a beautifully polished performance.\u003c\/em\u003e – James Lakeman, \u003cem\u003eThe Times Literary Supplement\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e[An] assured and intriguing novel...Hensher’s prose manages to be both immaculate and suggestive.\u003c\/em\u003e – David Profumo, \u003cem\u003eThe Daily Telegraph\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eRemarkable...a stately, inexorable pavane of yearning and violence.\u003c\/em\u003e – Jane Shilling, \u003cem\u003eThe Sunday Telegraph\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e[Hensher] is an intensely sophisticated writer, a critic of discernment and exquisite sensibility.\u003c\/em\u003e – John Walsh, \u003cem\u003eThe Independent\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eImpressively stylish...written with a formal elegance, in counterpoint to the chaos of the characters’ motivations.\u003c\/em\u003e – Russell Celyn Jones, \u003cem\u003eThe Financial Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eStunning; beguilingly complex.\u003c\/em\u003e – Charles Osborne, \u003cem\u003eThe Sunday Telegraph\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSet amongst the wigs and gowns of parliamentary officialdom, [\u003cem\u003eKitchen Venom\u003c\/em\u003e] exposes the hidden tensions in apparently banal lives. The characterisation is incisive and the dialogue first-class.\u003c\/em\u003e – \u003cem\u003eThe Sunday Telegraph\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHis House of Commons is as tightly run as a lunatic asylum, as baffling as Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland... [the plot] is at first intriguing then wholly beguiling, twisting tight its threads of power, betrayal, lust and love.\u003c\/em\u003e – Michele Roberts, \u003cem\u003eThe Independent On Sunday\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA brilliant, hateful work...For what it’s worth (and I did once work as a secretary to Margaret Thatcher) I think nobody has better described the trivial, as well as the grand, mechanisms of her mind.\u003c\/em\u003e – Matthew Parris, \u003cem\u003eThe Spectator\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAiry, felicitous, superintendent, Hensher releases his staggered secrets and recognitions in a smart but unpredictable procession of bad behaviours.\u003c\/em\u003e – Jeremy Maule, \u003cem\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67709322494188,"sku":"9781961341906","price":37.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781961341906-kitchen-venom-1.jpg?v=1791844196"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/philip-hensher.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}