The third installment in the Old Filth trilogy Last Friends will surprise and delight Gardam fans and appeal to new readers as it concludes a portrait of a marriage equal to any in the English language. Of Edward Feathers a.k.a. Old Filth the New York Times wrote “he belongs in the Dickensian pantheon of memorable characters.” Filth which stands for Failed in London Try Hong Kong is a successful barrister who has spent most of his career practicing law in Southeast Asia. He met his wife Betty after she was released from an internment camp at the close of World War II. The first two books in this series—Old Filth and The Man in the Wooden Hat— told the story of their life together first from Edward's perspective and then from Betty's. Last Friends is Edward's longtime nemesis and Betty's sometime lover Terry Veneering's turn and with its telling a magnificent and deeply moving story comes to its satisfying final pages. As the Washington Post commented these “absolutely wonderful” books give us “an astute subtle depiction of marriage.” With this third revealing view of Betty and Edward's life together the depiction is completed as readers renew their connection to this remarkable unforgettable couple.
