Philip Collins on The Knives (Times): 'Best political novel since Hollinghurst’s The Line of Beauty'

I count myself immensely fortunate to have provided a stimulus for this superb piece of writing by Philip Collins in today's Times on politics and the history of its depiction in the novel. His range is terrific, passionate and erudite, and I'm very much in sympathy with the thrust of his arguments, but honoured above all to be discussed approvingly in such company.

An extract:

'A new novel, The Knives by Richard T Kelly, tells the topical story of David Blaylock, an ambitious home secretary trying not to be buried by immigration and terrorism. It is an unusual book because, unlike most novels in which politics features, Kelly manages to tell a story that is dramatic and, at the same time, faithful to the facts about British politics.This is a remarkably rare feat in English letters.'