He’s written a dozen novels, non-fiction books about film stars Humphrey Bogart and James Stewart and the experimental novelist BS Johnson, and a couple of children’s books. Jonathan Coe’s novels have political preoccupations, humour and strong characterisation. His first big success was What a Carve Up! (1994), a satirical novel about life in 1980s Britain, with members of the same (Winshaw) family serving their own selfish interests, with grievous and far-reaching consequences. It was an explicit criticism of Thatcherism. Here I’ll focus on his Rotters’ Club trilogy, regarded by a good many critics as his most notable work.
pic by Russell G Sneddon / Writer Pictures
How he began