"The whole story is too ridiculous for words," says Lord Brisket, the eminent Oxford historian charged with writing the official history of the 2017 referendum on British membership of the European Union.
The same verdict has to be delivered on Andrew Marr's first novel, a thriller-cum-satire that has plenty of good moments but founders on its frankly ludicrous plot.
Head Of State tells the story of the mother of all cover-ups at the heart of the British establishment. Days before an in-versus-out referendum, the popular and respected Prime Minister, Bill Stevenson, who's spearheading the campaign to remain part of Europe, drops dead in his study in Downing St. Such is the blind panic among his inner circle that some smart alec comes up with a ripping wheeze. Why not suppress news of his death until after the referendum?
The conspirators then attempt to do just that, smuggling the body of the late Prime Minister out of No 10 via a secret tunnel and employing Rory Bremner to mimic his voice in radio phone-ins and telephone conversations with the new king, Charles III. Bremner discharges his duties with aplomb, exceeding his brief only when he promises additional funding for the arts, to the consternation of civil servants.
After that, things get really silly, with journalists being bumped off to stop the story leaking and pillars of the establishment meeting in darkened Mayfair cinemas to discuss the implications of the referendum for the pound. It just won't wash, even as black comedy.
