Media Mogul Henry Dunbar is on the run. With the help of his new friend Peter - an alcoholic ex comedian who has given good advice on how to avoid taking his meds - he has escaped from the sanatorium in which two of his daughters, Abby and Megan, have placed him. While Peter opts for the local pub, Dunbar heads for the hills, hotly pursued by daughters and authorities. He wants his power and his money back, but most of all he wants his sanity to return, and the chance to beg the forgiveness of his youngest daughter Florence, whom he has wronged.
I confess I am not a fan of St Aubyn’s books. The Melrose novels are not my thing, but I think Dunbar is the best yet in the Hogarth Shakespeare series. The balance of comedy and tragedy is great and the casting of a media tycoon in the Lear role perfect. The various riffs and tangents that both Dunbar and Peter go off on are fantastic and the awfulness of the two wicked daughters and their co-conspirator Dr Bob hilarious.
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