First Among Equals

From strangers to rivals, four men embark on a journey for the highest stakes of all — the keys to No. 10 Downing Street and to be First Among Equals.

4.38 based on 1100 reviews on amazon.co.uk.
4.1 based on 1122 reviews on amazon.com.
US-First-Among-Equals-cover
US-First-Among-Equals-cover

Synopsis

Charles Seymour, second-born son, will never be the earl like his father, but he did inherit his mother’s strength — and the will to realize his destiny… Simon Kerslake’s father sacrificed everything to make sure his son’s dreams come true. Now it is Simon’s chance to rise as high as those dreams allow.

Ray Gould was born to the back streets but raised with pride — a quality matched by a sharp intellect and the desire to attain the impossible… Andrew Fraser was raised by a soccer hero turned politician. Now it’s his turn for heroics, whatever the cost.

From strangers to rivals, four men embark on a journey for the highest stakes of all — the keys to No. 10 Downing Street. Unfolding over three decades, their honor will be tested, their loyalties betrayed, and their love of family and country challenged. But in a game where there is a first among equals, only one can triumph.

First published 1984 – Simon & Schuster.

Interesting fact

Several situations in the novel are drawn from the author’s own early political career in the British House of Commons, and Margaret Thatcher was a primary influence. Different characters become Prime Minister in the British and American editions of the book; Archer explained that this was because he found that readers in the two countries were not cheering for the same character to win. The British version also includes a Scottish M.P. that the American version omits.

retailers

Amazon
Apple
Audible
Barnes & Noble
Google
Kobo

Video

Jeffrey talks about First Among Equals.

Reviews

"Typical Jeffrey. Very difficult to put this book down as he keeps you turning the pages to see what happens next. Great read."

"His plots are so well thought out and the surprises keep coming throughout the book. The endings are profound and surprising."

"Jeffrey Archer grabs his reader from the first page, yet again."

"A razzle-dazzle fictional turn… engaging… pertinent and compelling. "

The Washington Times Magazine

"Archer invests his novels with drama, irony and suspense — First Among Equals is no exception… fascinating. "

The Boston Herald

"Top-flight entertainment. "

United Press International

"All the elements that make for a great commercial fiction: ambition, lust, greed, duplicity… a whale of a tale."

Newsday

"Archer receives his usual high marks for readability and gives his novel a pleasing sense of substance."

Publishers Weekly

Other Books in Fiction

Traitors gate US cover. The latest Jeffrey Archer book, one of the William Warwick novels.

Traitors Gate

2023

Next In Line US cover

Next In Line

2023

Next in Line. Hardback book cover USA. Book by Jeffrey Archer

Next In Line

2022

Over my dead Body. Hardback book cover USA. Book by Jeffrey Archer

Over My Dead Body

2022

Turn a Blind Eye cover cropped

Turn a Blind Eye

2021

Hidden in Plain Sight US Cover

Hidden in Plain Sight

2020