26/05/2026
Have You Read - Jane Gardam?
Jane Gardam (1928–2025) was an acclaimed English novelist and short story writer known for her subversive wit and deep insight into the human condition.
Gardam's magnum opus is a triptych of novels that track the life of Sir Edward Feathers—an upper-class British judge whose nickname "Filth" stands for the professional maxim "Failed in London Try Hong Kong".
Old Filth (2004): Follows Feathers' successful yet emotionally detached career in Hong Kong and his cranky retirement in England. The narrative reveals his traumatic childhood as a "Raj orphan" and his complex marriage to Betty.
The Man in the Wooden Hat (2009): Retells the story from the perspective of his wife, Betty, shedding light on her inner life, choices, and secrets within their marriage.
Last Friends (2013): Shifts focus to Feathers' bitter professional rival, Terry Veneering, exploring his working-class background and how their lives remained intertwined.
Crusoe's Daughter (2012): Follows Polly Flint who is orphaned at age six in 1904 and sent to live with her pious maiden aunts on remote on Yorkshire coast. She survives eighty years of isolation by using Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe as a philosophical guide.
