" First Lady", by Michael Dobbs

This is a story of an ambitious woman transforming herself from a political housewife into a master manipulator of the political system at Westminster.

The protagonist is Ginny Edge, the wife of MP Dominic Edge. Her aspirations are to make her husband Prime Minister and in turn assuming the power of First Lady. We can all relate to the characters in this novel: sleazy politicians, an array of head-line newspaper columnists and ruthless people in search of ultimate authority by all means. The sub-plot is about a female Sudanese immigrant, Ajok Arab who is struggling to make a living in Britain. By the end of the book the lives of the two women intertwine as Ginny uses Ajok to score political points for her husband's election.

This story is as funny and as it is wickedly entertaining. I particularly enjoyed Ginny's ways of scheming, befriending and betraying people around her. I don't know if it was the author's intention but she comes across as being quite a conniver in her machinations. The political infighting is comical; the high drama behind Mr Dobbs' writing should be taken as such, after all, isn't this a fiction?.. :) ha-ha..