An Exalted House

by Paul Maltby

PR man George Burghess, employed to whitewash the name of a firm linked to a fatal factory fire, suffers torments of conscience. Then a friendship with a woman, who squats in the flat above his own, points the way to the redemption he seeks. But Burghess cannot give up a hard-won career in corporate PR and, instead, descends into spiritual ruin. Through its story of a soul in crisis, "An Exalted House" brings into view the warring sides of the corporate zone of hostile takeovers and monuments to financial power versus an alternative zone of popular-festive breakouts and squats, presided over by the spirit of William Blake.

226 pages, Paperback

First published June 25, 2007

Reviews

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maltby's first published novel is an intelligent and incisive portrayal of the corruption inherent in the corporate system. His protagonist, George Burghess, is a self-centered and incompetent PR man who faces a crisis of conscience when he must "spin" the deaths of child laborers killed in a factory fire while making dolls for his company.

Burghess's chance at redemption arrives in the form of Gwen, a squatter living upstairs from him and outside the law. He must choose between his professional ambition and the aspirations of a group of outsiders who invite him to follow his conscience.

With this work, Maltby not only casts a critical eye on capitalist practices but also portrays the human struggle at its most poignant. An Exalted House shows the reality of our contemporary society and its cost to the human soul.