Chance Witness - An Outsider's Life in Politics

London: Viking, 2002. A Fine unmarked copy with Fine dustjacket which is not price clipped. xix + 503 pages. 40 illustrations. Shortly after university and a spell at the Foreign Office and having decided not to become a spy, Matthew Parris applied to London Transport for an apprenticeship as a diesel fitter and was turned down. He decided to try his luck as a Conservative Party candidate - buoyed by an award from the RSPCA - presented by an incredulous Mrs. Thatcher - for rescuing a drowning dog from the River Thames, Parris beat Peter Lilley and Michael Howard to stand for the West Derbyshire constituency, and spent seven years in the House of Commons. His book is a surprising and eccentric story, sometimes funny and always entertaining, of a life lived in and around politics, by a writer once described by Alan Clark as the political commentator with 'the clearest pen and the most fastidious sense of quality'. Later they fell out, Parris accusing Clark of falling asleep in the Commons chamber and Clark calling Parris 'an absolute shit'. He of course provides insight into many politicians. **** NOT EX LIB **** **** A HEAVY VOLUME OF 1.00 KILO UNPACKED WEIGHT WHICH MAY REQUIRE ADDITIONAL SHIPPING COST **** L. Hard Cover. Fine/Fine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.