''Rotten Borough'' () was a book published in 1937 by the

British writer British literature is literature from the United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands. This article covers British literature in the English language. Anglo-Saxon (Old English) l ...

Oliver Anderson Oliver Anderson (born 30 April 1998) is an Australian tennis performance coach and former player. Anderson was convicted and temporarily suspended from playing professional tennis due to being found guilty of match fixing his first round match ...

, using the pseudonym Julian Pine. Withdrawn soon after release, it was republished in 1989. The book is a satirical novel based on the author's observations of life in the town of

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...

, where he was educated. On release, it caused a national controversy and threats of

libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

actions in Britain because of the perception that its characters were based on real people, including Lord Brownlow, a friend of

King Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 1 ...

who had also served as mayor of Grantham. The book was withdrawn after three weeks.Andrew Bond
"Obituary: Oliver Anderson"
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 11 November 1996 , archive
here
The book received renewed public attention in the 1980s, because another character in the book, Councillor Nurture, was thought to be based on

Alfred Roberts Alfred Roberts (18 April 1892 – 10 February 1970) was an English grocer, preacher, and local politician. He served as alderman of Grantham from 1943 to 1952 and mayor of Grantham from 1945 to 1946. His second daughter, Margaret, was the ...

, the father of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

, although Anderson denied this. The book was republished in 1989. John Campbell, in his biography of Margaret Thatcher, described the novel as a dated and juvenile lampoon of small-town life, and believed that Councillor Nurture was actually based on Councillor Foster, another prominent Grantham councillor at the time.

References

1937 British novels Satirical novels Grantham Novels set in Lincolnshire {{1930s-satirical-novel-stub