Jane Gardam's Old Filth Trilogy Boxed Set

Old Filth #1-3

by Jane Gardam

Jane Gardam's beloved Old Filfth Trilogy-- her masterpiece, Old Filfth, The Man in the Wooden Hat, and Last Friends-- are here presented in a box set perfect for holiday gift-giving. Emotionally distant but highly successful Edward Feathers, his beautiful wife Betty, and his devilishly handsome professional rival (and Betty's one-time lover) Edward Veneering are the anchors of this series, with each novel focusing on a differenct character. Feathers was a "raj orphan"--children bown in Far East British colonies and raised in England--while Veneering's own path to legal renown is a Dickensian as his name. Filth and his circle tell a bittersweet tale of enduring friendship while contending with the disappointments and consolations of age as a once-insurmountable empire declines around them. Told with Jane Gardam's customary wit, the Old Filth trilogy is a deeply humane and often comic portrait of aging and a reminder that the experiences we choose to take with us in our twilight years are as unforgettable--and unpredictable as life itself.

Genres: Fiction

512 pages, Paperback

First published November 4, 2014

About the author

Jane Mary Gardam was an English writer of children's and adult fiction and literary critic. She also penned reviews for The Spectator and The Telegraph, and wrote for BBC Radio. She lived in Kent, Wimbledon, and Yorkshire. She won numerous literary awards, including the Whitbread Award twice. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours.

Reviews

[Alka Joshi · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books were as perfect as perfect gets. Gardam infuses each with the same characters but gives them different starring roles in each one. Just when you think "where did so & so go?" you see him/her enter the next scene. Gardam created such a believable world that I wanted to live in it. I wanted to have a cup of tea with these characters, question them about their life choices, and ask if their choices were worth it. Each book stands alone; you don't have to read the whole series, but it helps to have the complete picture and a comprehensive chronology of events, which you get when you read all three books. By the way, FILTH stands for Failed In London Tried Hong Kong, alluding to the group of expats who weren't special/brilliant/intelligent enough to be successful at home in England. In English colonies, however, where standards were lower, they fared better. So, so true.

[Magrat · Rating 5 out of 5]

The trilogy consists of Old Filth, The Man in the Wooden Hat, and Last Friends. They must be read in that order, because the life histories of the major characters and the byzantine tangle of connections between them (and many of the minor characters) are gradually revealed, sometimes so unexpectedly that they can be missed. Picking up the connections is one of the great charms of reading the books, but it makes discussing them difficult as I feel I am picking my way through a minefield of spoilers.

Old Filth is the story of Old Filth himself, the distinguished Judge Sir Edward Feathers (his nickname comes from Failed in London, Tried Hong Kong), in fact a man of impeccable personal appearance. Eddie Feathers is, like Kipling, an orphan of the empire whose mother died at his birth and who was sent back to England at the age of eight. Like Kipling he was mistreated in his foster home, but exactly what happened there, and subsequently during his adolescence and early manhood takes the whole book to unravel.

The Man in the Wooden Hat is the story of his strong minded wife Betty, literally an orphan whose parents perished in a Japanese internment camp in Shanghai. Her marriage to Eddie almost doesn't take place after her seemingly accidental acceptance of his idea of a proposal. Here in the history of her married life begins the story of her connection with Eddie's hated profession rival, Terry Veneering.

Last Friends is the story of Terry Veneering, handsome, womanising, trapped in a loveless marriage to a beautiful, crazy rich Chinese, mother of his only son, who the childless Betty loves with all the maternal devotion that needs an outlet. The suave Veneering's origins are quite unexpected, but beyond saying that he is truly self-made I will not elaborate. It is also the story of the recurring character Fiscal-Smith, a mean, penny-pinching sponger who nobody can bring themselves to like.

Gardam marshals a large cast, all of them interconnected in ways that are not initially apparent, and writes with style and wit about love, desire and friendship. The books are like an elaborate woven tapestry, with threads running through all three volumes. I finished them with a feeling of satisfaction, as if I'd had a well cooked dinner.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had already gained a real appreciation for Jane Gardam's sensibility and writing ability from reading some of her other novels, in particular God on the Rocks and A Long Way from Verona which are set on the English coast. Her characters are curious, caring, and flawed as they strive to attain things in their lives, from a schoolgirl seeking recognition as a gifted writer to a young girl struggling to fit in at home with her uniquely religious preacher father and a mother who strives to abide by her husband's Christian precepts but often strays.

The Old Filth (shorthand for Failed-in-London-try-Hong Kong) novels reveal a much larger world beyond the UK. They range among a group of English ex-pats who leave England for Malta, Hong Kong, and other parts in the Far East. The remote but very successful Edward Feathers (also known as Old Filth), his lovely wife Betty, and his handsome professional rival (and Betty's one-time lover) Edward Veneering are the linchpins of this series. They are flawed in their relationships, as well as their view of their roles and contributions in the colonies. This view is rooted in the paternalistic belief that they are greatly advantaging these Far East colonies by making them part of the British Commonwealth.

Both Feathers, who was born in a Far East British colony and raised in England, and Veneering are renowned barristers who scheme and plot against each other in Dickensian style. As the years pass, Filth, his wife Betty, Veneering and their circle lead lives that include enduring friendships and caring marriages while coping with the disappointments and consolations of age as the once-mighty empire declines around them. The Old Filth trilogy is written with Jane Gardam's usual wit and love for her characters and their humanity.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lowell recommended this book. I did enjoy reading about the Old Filth (Failed In London, Try Hong Kong). Very interesting story of the lawyer, his wife, and his old enemy.

[Michael Elias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compelling, funny and heartbreaking.

Jane Gardam leaves contemporary English writers in the dust. Discover her, you will love her and read her over and over.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this trilogy because of a recommendation from Ann Patchett on TikTok and I'm glad I did. She pointed to the excellent construction of these three rather short novels, and she was spot on. First of all, the story is densely British. The characters are mostly "Raj orphans" as was Kipling. Their stories are examined from different angles throughout the trilogy. It was compelling. Just as you are thinking, "Whatever happened to...?" you realize you are either reading about them (perhaps in a different stage of life), or they are just about to appear. We follow the main character, Old Filth himself, from his birth after WW1 to his death. (The moniker "Old Filth" stands for Failed in London Tried in Hong Kong.) The men are lawyers who go to Hong Kong to practice and are very successful.

The themes include the psychological effect of, well, being British mostly, separated from their emotionally and often physically distant parents at a young age and raised by paid foster families back in Britain. Marriage, love, and old age are explored through the eyes of all the characters. Love, loss, and purpose are examined throughout. It reveals the way our relationships change as we age, how we can come to love people who we may have merely tolerated in our youth, and the fine line between an arch-enemy and an old friend. Beware though, it is one of those books that now that I'm finished, I'm a little sad that it's over.

[Anastasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jane Gardam's "Old Filth" trilogy is sheer perfection. One of those works that are so good that you almost don't want to share them with anyone else. Recommended for: expats, orphans, parvenus, survivors.

[Glenys · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Man in the Wooden Hat is a delightfully charming story.
Fifty years of an unusual marriage. Two people so unalike, utterly devoted despite their secrets.
It is not necessary to have read the first book in order to enjoy this one.

[Johnhb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written story of two barristers on the Asian circuit. A lot more interesting than this may sound to most people. Many twist and turns. The story is told from the different perspectives of the main characters in each of the three volumes. Well worth the read!

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely on my top 10 favorite list! Jane Gardem is a brilliant writer and knows how to tell a story! How lovely it was to have 3 books to savor over winter!!!

[Werren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don’t know how this author is not better known. Some of the best character development and as a trilogy simply outstanding !

[Nicky M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved. Has stayed with me. Poignant. Touching. Life affirming.

[L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jane Gardam's Old Filth Trilogy is a captivating series of books that explores themes of love, friendship, and ageing from various perspectives across its three volumes. Beyond exploring the nuances of purpose, marriage, and loss that circles around the main characters and the byzantine tangle of connections between them across the span of their lives, it is also a study on the psychological effect of being "Raj orphans"—children of parents that were part of the extensive bureaucratic and military system that upheld the British Empire sent "Home" to an unfamiliar country, surrounded by strangers, for their education.

Written in such simplicity and wit, one cannot help but to grow an appreciation for the subtle way Gardam weaves an elaborate and complex tale of "the ordinary British expat life" with these well-drawn-out characters. All while capturing a snapshot of the British Empire and its impact on the 20th century.

[Sophie Glazer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three very slim novels, and a slender collection of short stories comprise the total work, and it really is a single work. The same material is examined from different points of view, subtly enriched and complicated as we learn how much was known--or understood--or misunderstood, and how much the different characters kept to themselves. The first book follows the career of a distinguished lawyer, the last follows that of his bitterest enemy and last friend, and much of the strength of the entire series is its invitation to understand the ways that sheer longevity turns enemies into friends, as we turn, at the end, to the people who've known us best, known us longest, and can understand us as nobody else does.

[Anne Charlotte · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read 2 out of 3 and won't read the 3rd: not my cup of tea.
Easy read, but way too many twisted situations that don't always make sense, and it takes place a lot in the UK, much more than HK or China, or even Malaya, which was disappointing to me, as I was expecting more a novel on their years there with descriptions of the local communities, not their older retiring years in the English countryside. Characters were also way too quirky for my liking, they simply don't seem realistic. Quirks are ok for novel purposes but here's just too much, I couldn't care about them and what happens to them. Humor could have save it all... But it didn't.
So I gave up and won't go back.

[Lesley Potts · Rating 4 out of 5]

After The Man in the Wooden Hat I read the other two novels in the trilogy. They were equally as good. The three together are a bit like Rashomon. Every character has a different interpretation of what happened and they are all holding something back. Their back stories were very poignant and I loved the way athe author wove a web of connections stretching over decades. Quite a lot, including some pivotal events, is briefly elaborated upon but that just adds to the "I want more" factor.

[Frances Brent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed every word and every minute. Preposterous, yet not. Only the English of another era could produce such implausible characters plausibly. You have to grow up steeped in Kipling, as I was to fully savor it all. My best friend died a year ago and Old Filth was one of her last recommendations. Good one, Kathleen.

[Gail Herger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too,too much information…

Skipped the last 10 pages or so. Plowed through the rest but really more information about people I had no desire to know. Why would someone write such a book? Nothing to be gained by reading it. Ancient history about people none of us would ever know.

[Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader 2.0 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this trilogy, which I read in Kindle format, which made it feel like one big luscious novel. I wanted to read it all the time, but tried to parcel it out so that it lasted longer. Delicious. Thanks to Ann Patchett who recommended Old Filth on as one of her new to me books on TicTok. It's the kind of book you could start again after finishing the last page.

[Pippis Mamma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I e read two of the trilogy. Old Filth and The Man in the Wooden Hat. Great find!!

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved all three books but the first, Old Filth, is the best the following 2 circle back so the reader discovers the truth behind the characters. Great writing.

[Martie Stanwell]

See

[Susan Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable look at the postwar British upper middle class or lower upper class, so well written.

[Mieke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een stel (post)koloniale Britten in Azië en in het thuisland, hun vriendschappen, ruzies, liefdesrelaties en rivaliteiten gedurende driekwart eeuw: Jane Gardam vult er een trilogie mee die me raakte op verschillende niveaus. Om met de onderbuik te beginnen: ik heb altijd een vaag heimwee gehad naar een koloniale tijd die ik nooit heb meegemaakt. Het moet de combinatie zijn van een exotische omgeving en een soort thuisgevoel. Nog eens in het Nederlands-Indië van voor de oorlog kunnen rondkijken!
Het hoofd geniet van de manier waarop Gardam in het eerste deel een verhaal op poten zet, dat een lang mensenleven en bijna de hele 20ste eeuw beslaat. En hoe ze dat in de volgende delen verder invult vanuit perspectieven van andere personages. Het resulteert in een symfonie van stemmen. Over perspectief gesproken: daar doet Gardam helemaal niet moeilijk over, ze heeft een heel vrij soort schrijfstijl die mij goed bevalt.
Voor wie dacht dat globalisering in de jaren negentig begon: de hoofdpersonen varen en vliegen vanaf de jaren dertig heel wat af tussen het Britse moederland en de (voormalige) koloniën/handelsposten. Dat is niet alleen iets voor de rijke elite. De hoofdpersonen, Edward Feathers, Betty Macintosh en Terry Veneering behoren ongetwijfeld tot de bevoorrechten (ze kunnen studeren en doen werk met hun hoofd) maar ze zijn toch arm, in het gebombardeerde en berooide Engeland van kort na de oorlog. En in Hong Kong, waar Betty kind aan huis is bij een zendelingenechtpaar en hun vele kinderen op een krappe etage in een volkswijk. Om een idee te geven hoe Gardam daarover schrijft (the Depressive is een gelovige oude dame, die dagelijks langskomt bij het gezin en voornamelijk zit te simmen):
“Amy ... took the baby from Betty’s knee and dumped it on the knee of the Depressive. It immediately began to cry, which made the Depressive stop, and Amy, holding two dishes of rice, squeezed herself down on the floor near Betty ...”
Gardam weet ook het hart te raken. Met het verschrikkelijke verhaal van Edward Feathers, die nog een kleuter is als hij uit het paradijs in Maleisië (heette dat bij ons niet Malakka?) verscheept wordt naar een akelig kosthuis in Wales. Want in Oost-Azië kun je je fortuin maken maar je kinderen moeten voor hun opleiding toch naar het moederland. Er is nog meer hartverscheurends maar er valt ook veel te lachen – zie bovenstaande passage. En hier, als de oude Feathers – Filth – voor het eerst na decennia weer zelf een auto bestuurt.
“He drove very fast indeed now, as the roads grew less equipped for him. I am a coelacanth. Yes, I dare say. I have lived too long ... I can drive, though. That’s one thing I can do. My reactions are perfect, and here is a motorway again.
And hullo – what’s this? Lights? Sirens? Police? ‘Good afternoon. Yes?’
‘You have been behaving oddly on the road, sir. It has been reported.’
‘I have been stopping sometimes. Resting. Once in a church. In my view, essential. No, no need for a breath test. Oh well, very well.’”
Aan bonte bijfiguren ook geen gebrek. De schoolmeester Sir is een van de mooiste:
“Eddie Feathers, I dare say? Excellent to meet you. I am your new headmaster and my name is Sir. Always Sir. Understood? ... I have one assistant, Mr Smith. He is always called Mr Smith, my assistant, whatever his real name.” Sir belooft Eddie dat hij Latijn zal leren en van zijn gestotter afkomen. En hij houdt woord.
Vier sterren dus!

[Graham · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first book in the series is excellently told and a great story: worthy of five stars. The second less so and by the third book the story had lost its momentum and the plot become so stacked with improbably connections and coincidence that any resemblance to reality had been left behind.

[Kate Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read all of these and found them very moving. Old Filth is a nickname - failed in London try Hong Kong - for an old school, ex pat lawyer. Now in retirement in Dorset, he looks back on his life - a raj orphan born in Malaya, sent to Wales to learn English before boarding school, then on to Oxford - his career and marriage hampered by a lonely, cruel childhood. The second book is from his wife’s point of view - her story, and the third from his rival in law and love. Jane Gardam writes about love and friendship in both younger and older days compellingly. In all three books the characters make difficult and at times questionable choices but we empathise with each one of them, because their lives and emotions are captured so intensely, and we can see they are products of their very different upbringings. A picture of empire and its impact on the 20th century.

[Pamela Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

See review on Old Filth.....

[Kangelani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant! Beautifully written, with choice words and no cliches. Surprise story-lines. Well-drawn characters. I didn't want it to end. I felt I knew someone just like the protagonist.