The Upstart

by Piers Paul Read

Hilary Fletcher is the son of the vicar of Lasterby, a village in North Yorkshire; his uncle, his mother’s brother, is a farmer, the tenant of Sir Edward Metherall who lives at Lasterby Hall. Hilary is taken up by the Metheralls as a playmate for their children, Mark and Harriet. He is captivated by the upper-class Metheralls, and aspires to become part of their world, but as he enters into adulthood he is rebuffed and a finally humiliated at a Hunt Ball.
Hilary’s rejection by the Metheralls transforms him into a vengeful class warrior, intent on subverting society as a purveyor of vice. With a friend from his school days, an Iranian Quazvini, Hilary becomes a thief, a pimp, a gambler, a serial seducer; but also an artist whose work, initially meant to launder his profits from crime, becomes fashionable, and he encounters once again the friends of his childhood, Mark and Harriet Metherall – and their fourteen-old sister, Martha

‘A thoroughly evil book reeking with decadence… Read seems to get frighteningly better with each book.’
The Sunday Times

Told with such freshness and vitality that it is a joy to read.’
Auberon Waugh, Evening Standard

Superb…damned engrossing and a pleasure to read.’
New York Times Book Review

Genres: Fiction

300 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

British novelist and non-fiction writer. Educated at the Benedictines' Ampleforth College, and subsequently entered St John's College, University of Cambridge where he received his BA and MA (history). Artist-in-Residence at the Ford Foundation in Berlin (1963-4), Harkness Fellow, Commonwealth Fund, New York (1967-8), member of the Council of the Institute of Contemporary Arts (1971-5), member of the Literature Panel at the Arts Council, (1975-7), and Adjunct Professor of Writing, Columbia University, New York (1980). From 1992-7 he was Chairman of the Catholic Writers' Guild. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL).

His most well-known work is the non-fiction Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors (1974), an account of the aftermath of a plane crash in the Andes, later adapted as a film.

Reviews

[Mrs. Morningstar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I said it before and I'll say it again, when a book features a brilliantly done court case then 1 star is already gained.

This has not been read by many, but to me it has been a small hidden treasure. It amazes me how one moment of humiliation could change a person so kind, smart and down to earth into something so evil. To be lead into planning a revenge for 10 years straight and in the end, as all revenge paths do, lead to denial and guilt for the rest of his life.
It also gave a very good picture of what kind of 'humans' lived in the streets of London in the 1900s.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Very good writing and an unexpected turn of events.

[Mártin · Rating 4 out of 5]

curioso. se eu raciocinar algo concreto sobre vou dizer

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Class warfare gone haywire

The book itself is disturbing in that Hillary desends to depths far beyond simple sinning. The last paragraph even to the last line reminds us to what God asks of us

[Ayla Markovisk · Rating 1 out of 5]

Livro Ruim com personagens superficiais e um protagonista tedioso, que usa a própria futilidade pra ser um vagabundo inútil e fica se fazendo de vítima, nenhum personagem chama a atenção todos aparecem na vida do personagem pra que a estória ande nao senti empatia com nenhum deles.
achei uma leitura inútil

[Lou · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Paulo Oliveira Jr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviravolta baseada em raiva e vingança. De uma origem humilde unido a um desejo de subir na vida de qual quer maneira e mostrar onde chegou por seu merito e realizar seu sonho de infância.