The Man Who Rode Ampersand

by Mount, Ferdinand

• ISBN13: 9780786710072
• ISBN10: 0786710071
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-06-19
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub

Summary

Aldous (Gus) Cottonthe asthmatic hero of Ferdinand Mount's critically acclaimed series A Chronicle of Modern Twilight, including his recent Booker Prizenominated novel Fairnesshas a problem: Its name is Harry, a carouser, an amateur jockey, a compulsive gambler, a charmer with an unfortunate penchant for excess. He also happens to be Gus's father. Dead set on detaching himself from any paternal and all real-life responsibilities, Harry begins his descent from the heady realm of the racing setwhich afforded him the sweet experience of riding Ampersand, the legendary Gold Cup winner, and champagne by the magnumto an unglamorous but not undramatic existence in a grim world of lice-infected brothels and gambling houses. At the same time, Harry is thrown into the maelstrom of the Second World War, where comedy meets tragedy to ill-fated effect. In all, Harry's career vibrantly reflects the downward spiral of a once-vigorous nation, and leaves the sometimes amused and frequently appalled Gus trying very hard to love his father.

Author Biography

Ferdinand Mount is the author of such novels as Jem (and Sam), a New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the Year, and Fairness, a nominee for the Booker Prize. Both The Man Who Rode Ampersand and Fairness are novels in the acclaimed series A Chronicle of Modern Twilight. Mount edited the Times Literary Supplement for many years and is now a columnist for the Sunday Times in London

Table of Contents

Chapter One	1	(61)
Early Morning	29	(8)
Weighing Out	37	(15)
The Off	52	(10)
Chapter Two	62	(56)
Night Life	77	(14)
On the Rails	91	(14)
Flagrante Delicto	105	(13)
Chapter Three	118	(65)
Silesian Bliss	132	(24)
Intercessional	156	(14)
The Last of England	170	(13)
Chapter Four	183	(31)
Barrack-room Ballad	185	(9)
Mussolini's Tits	194	(10)
Back of Beyond	204	(10)
Chapter Five	214