Old Filth

By: Jane Gardam

Narrated by: Bill Wallace

Long ago, Old Filth was a Raj orphan - one of the many young children sent 'home' from the East to be fostered and educated in England.

Jane Gardam's novel tells his story, from his birth in what was then Malaya to the extremities of his old age. In so doing, she not only encapsulates a whole period from the glory days of British Empire, through the Second World War, to the present and beyond, but also illuminates the complexities of the character known variously as Eddie, the Judge, Fevvers, Filth, Master of the Inner Temple, Teddy and Sir Edward Feathers.

©2004 Jane Gardam (P)2015 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"A magnificent, deeply moving and compassionate portrait of an era and a sentimental education. Please read it." ( Daily Mail)

"Beautiful, vivid and defiantly funny." ( The Times)

wonderful novel, brilliantly narrated

Gardam is a wonderful writer. She captures so much of the subtle texture of character, situation, and feeling through perfectly noticed details and perfectly chosen words. My only criticism is that as she moves back and forth in time between periods in Old Filth's life, some of the hints she drops about what actually happened can sometimes be a little too subtle–at least for me–when listening rather than reading. The narrator, Bill Wallace, is truly superb. He manages every variation of class, sex, age, and personality in the voices he gives to the characters who speak. I can't imagine his performance being improved upon.

Fantastic story and characters.

I absolutely loved listening to this story as it meandered its way backwards and forwards from past to present. Wonderful characterisation by Bill Wallace .