What a Carve Up! by Jonathan Coe

What a Carve Up! is a satirical novel by Jonathan Coe, published in the UK by Viking Press in April 1994. It was published in the United States by Alfred A Knopf in January 1995 under the title The Winshaw Legacy: or, What a Carve Up! The novel concerns the political and social environment in Britain during the 1980s, and covers the period up to the beginning of aerial bombardment against Iraq in the first Gulf War in January 1991. It is a critique of British politics under the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher (and, briefly, John Major) and of the ways in which national policy was seen to be dictated by the concerns of narrow, but powerful, interest groups with influence in banking, the media, agriculture, healthcare, the arms trade and the arts. Coe creates the fictitious Winshaw family to embody these different interests under one name and, ultimately, one roof.

The 1326th greatest fiction book of all time


This book is on the following lists:

  1. - 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (The Book)

Buy This Book

Name Binding Sales Rank Lowest New Lowest Used Published
What a Carve Up! Audible Audiobook 228077 $22.90 2019
The Winshaw Legacy Hardcover 18165434 $9.19 1996
What a Carve Up! (Penguin Essentials) Paperback 6350545 $4.99 $2.20 2016
The Winshaw Legacy (Vintage International) Kindle Edition 435974 2016
The Winshaw Legacy Paperback 20003853 $29.95
The Winshaw Legacy or What a Carve Up! by Jonathan Coe (1995-01-06) Hardcover 878212 $23.73 $7.43
What a Carve Up Audio CD 949736 $78.98 $12.47 2005
What a Carve Up! Paperback 2684358 $2.62 2008
The Winshaw Legacy: or What a Carve Up! Hardcover 3511315 $25.00 $2.99 1995
What a Carve Up! (Essential Penguin) Paperback 7136864 $46.41 $1.71 2001
What a Carve Up! (Penguin Street Art) Paperback 980226 $6.00 $2.20 2014
The Winshaw Legacy: or, What a Carve Up! Paperback 1748908 $11.91 $1.59 1996