The Seducer

Publisher’s Foreword

We make no secret of the fact that the novel the reader now holds in his or her hand proved to be something of a headache for the judges of our major competition to find the best biographical novel. Not only was this manuscript the most topical — and by far the most controversial — of all the many manuscripts submitted, but when, after lengthy deliberation, the judges did decide to present the award to this novel and opened the envelope containing the winning name, they found that the author preferred to remain anonymous and that any eventual prize-money, and any other fees, were to be paid into a bank account in the name of a small but well-known humanitarian organization.

The question of literary merit aside, that we the publishers have had to consider whether the manuscript ought, in fact, to be published in book form, in line with the other two prize winners, was due, of course, to the extraordinary and much publicized events which form the basis for the novel — and, even more so, the grim sequel to said events of which, by the way, no mention is made in the novel. The fact that this book has been published serves, not least, as a reminder that in Britain freedom of speech is a constitutional right. Nonetheless, in an effort to forestall any unnecessary debate, we would like to point out that the publishing house’s legal advisors have gone through the manuscript, and, since a number of names which appear in this novel correspond to those of real people, copies of the manuscript have been passed to those individuals who might feel injured or offended by its content. We would like to make it clear that in every case — although for quite different and sometimes surprising reasons, to be sure — they have given their permission for this book to be published.

Although the following account is founded on biographical facts, the validity of which can be checked by anyone so minded, it is just as manifestly a novel, allowing all of the liberties and the possibilities offered by that genre. We the publishers wish to emphasize that this is, in the final analysis, a piece of fiction, the ‘truth’ of which it will be up to the reader to decide.

A brief notandum: several of the judges remarked on a certain linguistic inconsistency in the manuscript. We the publishers have not, however, made any alterations to the text, other than the correction of purely orthographical errors, not because the author is unknown but because in the case of such competitions we elect to publish the manuscripts as they stand.