White, middle-aged woman, wavy blonde hair and peach complexion. Married to Peter Whiteley for 30+ years – widely perceived as the brains and force behind his career trajectory at the time. Knowledge of politics comes from her father, a notorious politician and philanderer. Known to suspect husband’s secretary Patricia Diaz of attempts to seduce him.
Hardbackers Reading Group (Redbridge Central Library):
We think that you need to empathise with people to understand their motivations. But it's hard to empathise if you haven't shared the same situation as them, or share similar interests, or had similar experiences. For example noisy neighbours; if you've also had them, you can understand others' motivations or actions - or lack of!
David Deacon:
As I recall, I felt angry at the destructive behaviour, upset to witness such violent rage, worried for people caught up in it and, for some reason, very sad. That said, I do not trust memory: remembering happens in the moment, now. I may have written about what I feel now, looking at the footage.
It’s 4 a.m. and Cathy Mason is watching dawn break over the Lovelace estate. By the end of the day, her community will be a crime scene. By the end of the week, her city will be on fire.
In this gripping thriller by Orange Prize-shortlisted author Gillian Slovo, ten unpredictable days of violence erupt from a stifling heatwave. And, as Westminster careers are being made or ruined, lives are at stake. Ten Days is about what happens when politics, policing and the hard realities of living in London collide.
Listen to extracts from the book by visiting Audible’s dedicated channel on Soundcloud.
About Gillian Slovo
Gillian Slovo is a playwright and the author of thirteen books, including five crime novels, the courtroom drama Red Dust, which was made into a feature film starring Hilary Swank and Chiwetel Ejiofor, and the Orange Prize-shortlisted Ice Road. She co-authored the play Guantanamo - Honor Bound to Defend Freedom, which was staged internationally. Her research for her play The Riots inspired Ten Days. Gillian Slovo was President of English PEN from 2010 to 2013 and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She was born in South Africa and lives in London.
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