Craig, Amanda

(British, 1959– )

When copies of Amanda Craig's brilliant third novel, A Vicious Circle (1996), were first circulated in proof editions, it caused such a storm that parts of it had to be rewritten. This should not be taken as evidence that the book is cruel and vindictive; rather, that it rings so horribly true. An unsparing portrait of literary, political, and media London in the 1990s, it follows the fortunes of a group of friends from student days, as they each scale the ladder of success, sometimes falling off, sometimes nudging another off in their place. A satire with a conscience, Craig's novel is contemporary, and also old-fashioned, in the best sense: it subjects its characters to the most serious moral scrutiny, and never flinches.

Martin Amis, William Makepeace Thackeray (Vanity Fair)  CH