Böcker av GJ Babb

Politics calls for men and women of experience - citizens of high repute and sound judgment. Vice-Chancellor Professor Clifford Conquest is a Labour politician in the making who has heard the call. Conquest is invited to become an advisor on the future of university education to Labour MP Marcus Lancing. He soon begins to fear that those defending the bastions of Socialism are being driven to madness by Think Tanks, Specialist Advisors, Chief Future Officers, the Commentariat and the Battle of the Civilisations. The Tory Government, he has no doubt, already has. On his way to a parliamentary seat, Conquest finds himself increasingly immersed in a world of political double-dealing beset by the industry of bad conscience. He skirts scandals aplenty, but he knows how to ride the zeitgeist, and surely his battle-hardened experience of universities, where revolting students, ideological strife and bungled management are everyday hazards, has fully prepared him for political life?

The renowned artist, Gustave Post, has been dead four years. His estate is in the hands of the Collarii Foundation, which administers it to maintain and enhance the value of his life's work, and to established the Gustave Post Museum and Study Centre as his lasting memorial.

University London Central, a "middling" university, finds itself in a scandalous mess. "Special measures" require the wholesale removal of its administration. The new vice-chancellor, Professor Clifford Conquest, is a seasoned public sector "enforcer"; a dedicated organisation man facing multiple challenges.

The Emsbury locals call them "grockles", summertime visitors that flock to the beautiful estuary of the river Em. The most famous grockle is Meade Daguerre, controversial artist with an international reputation to uphold. As July unfolds two crimes are linked to him, and the youthful assistants and hangers-on that go everywhere he goes.