FILTH in his heyday was an international lawyer with a practice in the Far East. Now only the oldest QCs & Silks can remember that his nickname stood for Failed In London Try Hong Kong. Long ago Old Filth was a Raj orphan
- one of the many young children sent ' Home' from the East to be fostered & educated in Engl&. Jane Gardam's new novel tells his story from his birth in what was then Malaya to the extremities of his old age. Brilliantly constructed
- going backwards & forwards in time yet constantly working towards the secret at its core
- OLD FILTH is funny & heart-breaking witty & peopled with characters who astonish dismay & delight the reader. Jane Gardam is as sensitive to the 'jungle' within children as she is to the eccentricities of the old. A touch of magic combines with compassion humour & delicacy to make OLD FILTH a genuine masterpiece.