Mick Jackson’s moving portrayal of a Victorian misfit, who slowly comes to understand the history that lies behind his obsessive behaviour.

The fifth Duke of Portland spends his time and wealth creating a network of tunnels beneath his Nottinghamshire estate. As he withdraws further from society he falls prey to his lonely self-absorption and to the tender mercies of his household staff. His rare appearances are misinterpreted and local gossip has inflated his eccentricities into sinister deformities. The Duke’s slow piecing together of the truth about his past builds to an intensely moving and powerful conclusion.

Shortlisted
The Booker Prize 1997
Published by
Faber & Faber
Publication date
Mick Jackson

Mick Jackson

About the Author

Mick Jackson is the prize-winning author of the novel The Underground Man, which was shortlisted for the 1997 Booker Prize.
More about Mick Jackson