{"product_id":"kitchen-venom-9781961341906","title":"Kitchen Venom","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"[An] elegant novel of poisoned love and intimate violence . . . Sharp and funny . . . a beautifully polished performance.\" --James Lakeman, \u003ci\u003eThe Times Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Political intrigue, sexual chicanery, disappointment, betrayal\" combine with \"dazzling\" effect (Jane Shilling, \u003ci\u003eThe Sunday Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e) in this scandalous novel that exposed the secrets of Margaret Thatcher's government.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs a senior clerk in the House of Commons, John is a man of gravitas, a well-respected widower with two grown-up daughters, who upholds establishmentarian codes of morality and decency. What his colleagues don't know is that he harbors a secret predilection for rent boys. Afternoon assignations in his current squeeze's discreet Earl's Court flat are one thing, but when his reputation, his job, and his relationship with his friends and family are all threatened, John takes desperate measures to protect himself. Set during the last days of Margaret Thatcher's premiership, and ingeniously narrated by an all-knowing incarnation of the Prime Minister herself, \u003ci\u003eKitchen Venom\u003c\/i\u003e is a lethally entertaining story of sex, secrets, and scandal.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA sensation when it was published in the UK in 1996, \u003ci\u003eKitchen Venom\u003c\/i\u003e cost Philip Hensher his own job as a clerk in the British House of Commons--an achievement \"all the more remarkable,\" the \u003ci\u003eIndependent\u003c\/i\u003e noted, given the vehicle of this ruination was \"a stunningly intelligent, assured and compelling novel.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Philip Hensher\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e McNally Editions\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/19\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 288\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.79lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.40h x 5.00w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781961341906\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/29\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eHensher, Philip:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePhilip Hensher\u003c\/b\u003e was born in 1965 in London, where he still lives. He worked as a House of Commons Clerk between 1990 and 1996. His novels include \u003ci\u003eThe Mulberry Empire\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Northern Clemency\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eScenes from Early Life\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eTo Battersea Park\u003c\/i\u003e. He has won or been shortlisted for the Somerset Maugham Award, the Ondaatje Prize and the Man Booker Prize, among others. In 2026 his \u003ci\u003eA History of the Novel in Britain\u003c\/i\u003e will be published by Penguin.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Philip Hensher \/ Paperback \/ English","offer_id":48750885372061,"sku":"9781961341906","price":22.8,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_b2ae1545-ace6-411a-bf1b-8ad0e1d27bcc.jpg?v=1785918727","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/kitchen-venom-9781961341906","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}