It's strange to think that a 1989 novel by an ex-deputy chairman of the Conservative party – and now life peer in the House of Lords – is the basis for one of the biggest shows of the 21st century so far, but that has been precisely the fate of Michael Dobbs' political thriller House Of Cards.
Equally as odd is the fact that one of the defining stylistic elements of its screen adaptations, the first-person narration so brilliantly delivered by Kevin Spacey and, previously, Ian Richardson, is entirely absent from the novel. Instead, Dobbs’ book is told in the third person and, in a complete reversal of the TV adaptations – spoiler alert – it’s Francis Urquhart who dies at the end, while Daily Telegraph reporter Marrie Storin (the basis for the Zoe Barnes character played by Kate Mara in the Netflix show) lives to tell the tale.
The finale of the book was totally altered for the superb BBC adaptation, and it was that narrative thread that Dobbs opted to pick up for House Of Cards' sequels, To Play The King (1992) and The Final Cut (1994). Heavy with the atmosphere of the dying days of Thatcherism, and played out against a background of social decay, IRA attacks and international political tensions, Dobbs' books are gripping affairs and well worth checking out. However, there are numerous other politically themed novels that will also adequately fill that House Of Cards-shaped hole in your life while you wait for season five to arrive early next year.
American Hero by Larry Beinhart
A book which explores very similar terrain is Larry Beinhart’s 1993 novel, American Hero, later adapted by director Barry Levinson into the film Wag The Dog, with Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro. The wizard behind the curtain in the book is the real-life Republican strategist, Lee Atwater, whom Beinhart wonderfully describes as “Brian Epstein to The Beatles. Livia to the emperor Tiberius.” Indeed, the Machiavellian Atwater could have slotted easily into the world of House Of Cards.
An enthusiastic blues guitarist who at the height of his political power enjoyed jamming with BB King, Atwater’s most notable achievement was the 1988 US presidential election. In an approach that would have made Frank Underwood proud, his vicious negative campaigning against the Democratic nominee, Michael Dukakis, saw George Bush Sr overcome a 17-point deficit to claim victory.
In Beinhart’s hugely enjoyable and witty satire, the author imagines a scenario where Atwater dreams up the first Gulf War in order to ensure a second term for Bush. This is the cue for the president’s team to hire a Hollywood director to stage a war with Albania, while a disaffected actress and her hired detective try to expose the conspiracy.
Primary Colours by Anonymous (Joe Klein)
Another American book with a similar flavour to House Of Cards is the 1996 novel, Primary Colours, also later adapted into a film, directed by Mike Nichols and starring John Travolta. Based on Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign, the book is narrated by aide Henry Burton, whose descriptions of Southern governor Jack Stanton could be easily applied to Frank Underwood (“He is interested in you. He is honoured to meet you… He’ll share a laugh or a secret then – a light secret, not a real one – flattering you with the illusion of conspiracy.”) Throughout the course of the campaign, Burton’s idealism eventually sours as he becomes disillusioned with Stanton’s scheming, philandering and oily insincerity.
The background of the book is worthy of a novel in itself. Published originally by “Anonymous” (to whom the book is still officially credited), there was frenzied speculation in the US media about the identity of its author. Eventually, after The Washington Post published handwriting analysis of notes from an early manuscript, the author was revealed to be US journalist Joe Klein, the man who memorably described life inside the beltway as “the pollster-consultant industrial complex.”
O: A Presidential Novel by Anonymous
The strategy of attributing Primary Colors to an anonymous author certainly didn’t do any harm when it came to generating publicity, an approach also taken by the publishers of a more recent book, the compelling O: A Presidential Novel. First appearing in 2011, the story looked forward to the then upcoming 2012 Presidential contest. The central characters were the Democratic incumbent seeking re-election, O (modelled on Barack Obama), and his Republican opponent, retired four star general Tom Morrison (based on John McCain).
In truth, it would be hard to top the real-life 2008 and 2012 campaigns for sheer entertainment, as so brilliantly chronicled in journalists Mark Halperin and John Heilemann’s non-fiction books, Game Change and Double Down. (If they decide to do a sequel about 2016, Donald Trump’s campaign will surely have given them several volumes worth of material.) Once again, the authorship of O became a hot topic, although it was actually Halperin who reported that his sources had confirmed the author as McCain aide Mark Salter.
Harry’s Game by Gerald Seymour
On this side of the Atlantic, meanwhile, the political turmoil in Northern Ireland has produced a number of notable novels over the years. In the ‘70s, there was Gerald Seymour’s Harry’s Game, about a British army officer who goes undercover in Belfast to try and track down an IRA gunman responsible for the death of a British cabinet minister. The novel was adapted into a UK TV series in the early ’80s, the haunting theme from which – a collaboration between Clannad and Bono – became a huge hit in Ireland and the UK.
Cal by Bernard MacLaverty
Another book adapted into a fine film was Bernard MacLaverty's 1983 novel Cal, about an IRA gang member who falls for the widowed wife of a RUC police officer, while celebrated Scottish crime author Ian Rankin also examined the Northern political situation in his 1988 thriller Watchman.
Divorcing Jack by Colin Bateman
In more recent times, one author to explore the Northern conflict to considerable acclaim is Bangor’s Colin Bateman, whose career kicked off in 1995 with Divorcing Jack. The darkly comedic thriller centres on reporter Dan Starkey, who becomes embroiled in a tale of political intrigue and sectarian violence following the death of his young mistress.
Divorcing Jack was adapted into a well-received 1998 film starring David Thewlis, and Bateman would go on to base a series of novels around the Starkey character, including 2011’s Nine Inches, in which the kidnapping of a Belfast shock jock leads Starkey – now styling himself as an “upmarket private eye” – to investigate a Shankill Road loyalist gang.
Betrayal by Maurice Manning
The Taoiseach by Charles Haughey
Down south, political novels have been rather thin on the ground, although there have been a few books which dealt with House Of Cards-style intrigue. Among them are ex-Fine Gael senator Maurice Manning’s 1997 book Betrayal, which concerned a government press officer dealing with a cutthroat leadership heave, and Peter Cunningham’s early noughties effort The Taoiseach, based on the life of Charles Haughey.
The Ghost by Robert Harris
Over in Britain, perhaps the most discussed political novel of recent years was Robert Harris’s thriller The Ghost. The book’s central character is the devious Adam Lang, a recently unseated prime minister based on Tony Blair. Given Harris’s personal acquaintance with Blair, the book attracted huge media attention, and resulted in a vintage headline in the New York Observer, who titled its review, “The Blair Snitch Project”.
Of course, political fiction doesn't have to be all about gritty realism. Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel, The Handmaid's Tale, for example, is a brilliant piece of dystopian fiction in which the US government has been overthrown by a Christian theocracy (the Tea Party has gained power, in other words). Other dystopian works which give full value for money are Philip K Dick's The Man In The High Castle – now a hit show on Amazon Prime – which imagines an alternative history that resulted in the Nazis winning the war and controlling the US; and Alan Moore's classic graphic novel V For Vendetta, in which the titular anti-hero, V, enacts the fantasy of many an Irish Water protester and blows up parliament.
And if all that is not enough to give you your political fix this summer, we would also recommend Chinese author Qiu Xiaolong's brilliant thriller Death Of A Red Heroine, PD James' dark futuristic tale The Children Of Men (the basis for the 2006 film starring Clive Owen and Julianne Moore), and The Possessed, Dostoyevsky's powerful exploration of turn-of-the-century Russian politics.
It’s a reading list of which Frank Underwood himself would no doubt approve.
