The Closed Circle (novel)
Encyclopedia
The Closed Circle is a 2004 novel
by British
author Jonathan Coe
, and is the sequel to his 2001 novel The Rotters' Club. We re-encounter the main characters from The Rotters' Club - Benjamin Trotter, Doug Anderton and Philip Chase, and also become better-acquainted with some of the more minor characters, most notably Paul Trotter, Benjamin's younger brother, and Claire Newman, an old school friend of the boys.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
author Jonathan Coe
Jonathan Coe
Jonathan Coe is an English novelist and writer. His work has an underlying preoccupation with political issues, although this serious engagement is often expressed comically in the form of satire. For example, What a Carve Up! reworks the plot of an old 1960s spoof horror film of the same name...
, and is the sequel to his 2001 novel The Rotters' Club. We re-encounter the main characters from The Rotters' Club - Benjamin Trotter, Doug Anderton and Philip Chase, and also become better-acquainted with some of the more minor characters, most notably Paul Trotter, Benjamin's younger brother, and Claire Newman, an old school friend of the boys.
Characters
- Paul Trotter: Paul is a LabourLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
MP, so keen to ingratiate himself with Prime MinisterPrime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Tony BlairTony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
that he named his first child Antonia. However, he battles with his politics internally, and is unsure whether to vote for or against the Iraq War. Although keen to climb the political ladder, he is a deeply-flawed, weak man, and attempts to seduce Malvina, his 'media advisor'. - Benjamin Trotter: Benjamin has not come a long way from the introverted boy we met in The Rotters' Club. He and his wife Emily are unhappily unable to conceive and as their marriage deteriorates, the only thing they have in common is their ChristianChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
faith, although during the course of the novel his faith is shaken. Not only is Benjamin still working on his great book, a fusion of music and the written word, he is also yet to forget about Cicely Boyd, his first love. - Doug Anderton: Now living in Chelsea, LondonChelsea, LondonChelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
, Doug writes for a broadsheetBroadsheetBroadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages . The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of material, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet...
newspaperNewspaperA newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
and lives with his wife and young children. He is passionate about politics, persuading his editor to allow him to write a piece about the Longbridge plantLongbridge plantThe Longbridge plant is an industrial complex situated in the Longbridge area of Birmingham, United Kingdom. It is currently owned by SAIC Group and is a manufacturing and research and development facility for its MG Motor subsidiary....
in the midst of the factory's closure. Doug involves himself in the developing relationship between Paul and Malvina, but is powerless to stop the events that take place. - Philip Chase: Like Doug, Philip is now a journalist, although not for a national newspaper, but the Birmingham PostBirmingham PostThe Birmingham Post newspaper was originally published under the name Daily Post in Birmingham, England, in 1857 by John Frederick Feeney. It was the largest selling broadsheet in the West Midlands, though it faced little if any competition in this category. It changed to tabloid size in 2008...
. Although he eventually married Claire Newman, they later divorced, and he is now re-married to a woman named Carol. He and Claire had one son together, Patrick, who has lived with Philip since Claire went to live in ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Philip is compelled to investigate racismRacismRacism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
in Britain after an old school friend, Steve Richards, contacts him to say he is being sent abuse through the post. - Claire Newman: Claire returns from Italy at the beginning of the novel following a failed love affair, and tries to re-establish a relationship with her son, Patrick. Despite initial resistance, Claire agrees to reawaken the past and try to solve the mystery of her sister Miriam's disappearance after some persuasion by Patrick.