Last Friends

By Jane Gardam

Book Three in Jane Gardam's Old Filth trilogy.

Last Friends is the third and concluding novel in the highly praised trilogy that began with Old Filth and continued with The Man in the Wooden Hat.

The haunting first novel was the story of a decades-long marriage that stretched from the immediate post-World War II period into the opening of the twenty-first century. Sir Edward Feathers (Old Filth) was a captivating character: so clever, so triumphantly his own man, so wounded by his dreadful childhood.

The Man in the Wooden Hat was Betty's story. She and Sir Edward met and married in Hong Kong. She was surdy and dependable, the exemplary wife of an eminent lawyer. She owned two exceptional strands of pearls given to her by two men, who desired her and despised each other with equal authority. This second, equally witty, novel weighed the difference between marriage and romance with great subtlety and understanding.

Last Friends is Terence Veneering's turn. His beginnings were not those of the usual establishment grandee. Filth's hated rival in court and in love is the son of a Russian acrobat marooned in the English midlands and a local girl. He escapes the war and later emerges in the Far East as a man of panache and fame. The Bar treats his success with suspicion: where did this handsome, brilliant Slav come from? This exquisite story of Veneering, Filth, and their circle tells a bittersweet tale of friendship and grace and of the disappoinments and consolations of age. They are all, finally, each other's last friend as this magnificent series ends with the deep and abiding satisfaction that only great literature provides.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Release date: Apr 2, 2013
• ISBN: 9781609451127

Reviews for Last Friends

[wassilissa · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Auch in ihrem letzten Buch schafft es Jane Gardam noch, eine neue Perspektive auf die in "Ein untadeliger Mann" geschilderten Geschehnisse darzustellen. Allerdings kann dieses Buch ohne Kenntnis der beiden anderen Bände wohl kein Genuss sein. Hier wird viel vorausgesetzt. Andeutungen finden sich, die man ansonsten nicht verstehen würde.Diesmal geht es um Veneering, den ewigen Konkurrenten von Eddie Feathers. Seine Kindheit und Jugend wird erzählt. Sie ist erstaunlich tragisch. Interessant ist auch, dass Fred Fiscal-Smith und Veneering sich ihr Leben lang kannten. Fiscal-Smith spielt in diesem Buch eine tragende Rolle. Die das Buch rahmende Thematik ist wahrscheinlich die der Freundschaft und zwar der Freundschaft in allen Altersgruppen. Denn die Geschichte beginnt mit den Trauerfeiern für Veneering und Old Filth. Nur noch wenige Zeitgenossen sind übrig, darunter Dulcie und Fiscal-Smith. Erstaunlicherweise kümmern sich die jungen Leute, die Veneerings Haus gekauft haben, intensiv um Dulcie. Natürlich wird auch die am Ende entstandene Freundschaft zwischen Old Filth und Veneering angesprochen. Doch das Hauptthema ist Veneering: seine Herkunft, seine Karriere, seine Liebe zu Betty. Ich fand das Buch schön, v.a. weil ich diese Geschichten einfach gern lese. Die Autorin hat auch hier mit kleinen Andeutungen und Berichten einen gesamten Lebenskosmos geschaffen.

[chazzifrazz · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the third volume to the Old Filth series. The first one, "Old Filth" was primarily about Edward Feathers, whose nickname was Old Filth (Failed in London, Try Hong Kong). "The Man in the Wooden Hat" was about Betty Feathers, Old Filth's wife. "Last Friends" is Terrance Veneering's story; he was Old Filth's rival in the courts and quietly in romance.In this book we find out about where Veneering came from and how he went into law. The son of a coal seller and a Cossack, his curious and unknown past becomes known. He rises to the top of his profession and is an equal contender for the number one spot against Old Filth. The competition is extreme.The life of Fiscal-Smith and Pasty Willie's wife are revealed. More characters that are woven into the fabric of the Feathers' lives.These books tell of the rise and brilliance of these peoples' lives and their later years when they are no longer in the limelight. Of how the friendships change, and adversaries become the last friends they have.The characters become real, and I found myself thinking about them and their lives.

[bogopea · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I absolutely loved "Old Filth", the first book in what has become a trilogy written by Jane Gardam. This book not so much. This is the last of the three books and I am hoping that the middle one (The Man in the Wooden Hat) will make some of this one, "Last Friends" clearer. Jane Gardam is a wonderful author and I love her style of writing that evokes laughter out loud. "Last Friends" does explain the relationships of the major characters, with an element of mystery. In the middle of the book, Gardam introduces a new character . . . a young boy and his life many years prior to the current day of the novel. For me it was a major interruption in the flow of the book. While it was a clever method of doing so, I would have appreciated another method. However, all in all, a great story, artfully told.

[pgchuis · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Very disappointing. I only finished this because I had enjoyed the first two in the series and wanted to have read the full set. There was very little of Edward and Betty and lots of characters we had barely heard of/didn't care about, like Dulcie and Fiscal-Smith. The story of Veneering's early boyhood went on far too long and then the mystery of his marriage to Elsie was not touched on at all. Isobel remained shadowy and inconsistent. I think I liked sulky Susan the most...

[stringcat3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Look- if you are an Old Filth fan you can't pass this up. I'm just hoping that Jane Gardam repents the trilogy and gives us more (hey, Douglas Adams' Universe trilogy was, what, six volumes?). The Adventures of Dulcie and Fiscal-Smith would rival Burns and Allen. What about writing more about Veneering's wife and son? Harry was a great character. Just sayin, Jane.Not as rich as Old Filth (how could it be?) and a cut below Man in The Wooden Hat (has ANYONE figured out the significance of that title? If so, please share!). As a previous LT reviewer said, too much 'i dotting' and that may be true, but also some hilarious scenes, e.g., Dulcie and Fiscal-Smith in the church. I got a bit tired of dwelling on Veneering's childhood. Would have liked more on his life as a young man and rising lawyer cum judge, most of which happens off-stage and is shared through V's musings. I still feel that V is not as well defined as was Old Filth, mainly because we're missing all those years, especially those of HIS marriage.

[lucybrown_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Last Friends rounds out The Old Filth trilogy quite nicely. It was a bit straining for so many characters to keep stumbling upon old acquaintances or acquaintances of acquaintances, but that seems to be ever the case with English novels from Dickens to A. Powell. Gardam doesn't clear up every mystery which is good; too tidy a final package would have seemed contrived. Terry Vennering's origins prove to interesting with a vague sordidness which has a certain charm. He proves to be neither as louche or as much the cad he seemed to be.

[randymetcalfe · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Late in the day, Jane Gardam has returned to some last, best friends — the redoubtable Sir Edward Feathers (known to all as ‘Old Filth’), Terry Veneering (Sir Edwards’ nemesis in court), the ever dull Fiscal-Smith, the dim but faithful Dulcie, and there flitting on the edges, the sylph-like Isobel. Everyone it seems is over 80 and past it. Some, such as Terry, Edward, and Edward’s wife Betty have passed on. And all that remains are the interminable memorial services and the gradual slipping away of one’s memories and self.Ostensibly focused on the early life of Veneering (a name from Dickens that gets gifted to the young Terry Veratski), there is as much here about Fiscal-Smith (who had a very early connection with Terry) as there is about Dulcie and even about the new family of bustling, friendly outsiders who have taken over Terry’s former house in the Dorset village of Donhead St. Ague. Indeed village life might easily be the subject, its ebbs and flows, and the sense we are given that even in the far east in the days of empire, at least for a certain class, life was very much as close and familiar and whispering as any English village back Home.The writing is a touch uneven, but at its best, as for example when Gardam catches the tincture of fear that invades Dulcie’s aging mind as she considers that she may be not all there, it is very haunting. Indeed it is just such moments throughout the Old Filth collection of novels and stories that I would say warrant the acclaim that Gardam has sometimes accrued. She has a wonderfully airy but hesitant technique that paints her scene in watercolours without a background wash. Almost everything in such a style is inferred, gently alluded to, then challenged or reversed by contrasting memories. It is, I imagine, no easy thing to accomplish. And so, despite some mild reservations, gently recommended.

[roseredlee · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Disappointing conclusion to what has become a trilogy - following the wonderful Old Filth and the nearly-as-good Man in a Wooden Hat. Here Gardam mops up the remaining characters and plot lines, filling in some background from different points of view en route, but somehow there is a strained feel to it, a tad too much i dotting. However, this is Gardam, Filth is there, there are some glorious comic moments (I especially enjoyed Bobbie Grampian's natural confusion over John Donne and Don John - 'John Donne of Austria is marching to the War'!) and much to appreciate in the writing, especially about age. At one point Dulcie finds a youthful group picture at the wedding of Eddie and Betty: 'Willie was there. Oh, look at us, look at us! Still damp from our cocoons!' So, much to enjoy, and perhaps I am being churlish in my stars here - but the bar was set so high with Old Filth.

[spiralsheep · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

44/2020. I read this from the library to decide whether I wanted to order Fight of the Maidens by the same author. I liked the writing style. The contents were occasionally oblique, and I didn't find any of the characters especially interesting (they're the leftovers from Old Filth's cast), but as this is the third novel in a trilogy and I haven't read the first two it would be unfair to judge too harshly.

[laura1124-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this trilogy. Read them one after the other in almost no time and I cannot believe novels of so few words can convey so much so vividly. I think I will do a very rare thing and read them again.

[vivienner_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This follows Old Filth and The Man in the Wooden Hat a series that describe the same events from the viewpoint of different people. This is Veneering's story, and although not as captivating as the others, it fills in a lot of detail about this group of friends. Very clever writing and highly recommended. Gardam lives up to her position on my list of favourite authors

[y2ash · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Note: This is a 2.5-2.7 review.

Last Friends is the final installment of the Old Filth Trilogy. Technically, Last Friends has been summarized as Terry Veneering's story. I expected it to be in the vein of the last two novels, Old Filth and The Man in the Wooden Hat, that were about Old Filth and his adulterous wife Betty. The two subjects dominated their respective novels and were comprehensive and unflattering especially, in my opinion, of Betty.

However, Veneering doesn't dominate this book. The bits and pieces of his story that Gardam does give about him is very interesting but a bit weird in that Gardam way. That may be because of the cultural and time difference. However, the two people who do dominate are Dulcie and Fiscal-Smith.

I'm probably the only one who forgot who exactly these people are and why they were important. But thank goodness, Gardam reminded me profusely. These people were the Last Friends the title refers to. I had originally thought it refer to Old Filth and Veneering's tentative friendship they developed later in life.

The problem with having Dulcie and Fiscal-Smith as focal points is that they weren't very interesting. They came off as sad and pathetic. Maybe that was the point. They were the last ones left and that premise is bleak. I was never a big fan of this trilogy. I always thought that it was either over hyped or that I was missing the point.

However, I did identify more with Last Friends than with the others. That sense of longing and lost and unpredictability that comes when you're the only one that remains was palpable. Dulcie compulsively writing to Fiscal-Smith after he abruptly leaves was heartbreaking. He wasn't the best person but he was the only other one who knew what she was going through.

[cariola_6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This third book in Gardam's Old Filth trilogy is fun, yet not quite as good as the first two installments. Edward and Betty Feathers and Terry Veneering have passed on, and the story continues with the lesser characters in the series, most prominently Fiscal Smith and Dulcie, widow of Pastry Willie, the judge who was Betty's godfather. Much of the novel is flashback telling Terry Veneering's past as the son of an impoverished mother and an Odessan circus performer who ends up making it good. Recommended for fans of this series.

[streamsong_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the story of Terry Veneering , the third member of a triangle of intricately woven relationships, which included Edward Feathers and his wife Betty.Although the three came together in the Far East and Veneering, like Feathers, was a lawyer, Veneering's backstory is surprising and totally different from the other two's upper class backgrounds. Unlike the others, Veneering's childhood was one of poverty. He was the son of a coal seller and a well-educated Russian acrobat (gossip said a spy) who was paralyzed in a fall at the circus. Veneering's is also the story of the devastating bombings during World War II's London Blitz; of his neighborhood destroyed, parents killed and children evacuated on transports to keep them safe in Canada, only to have the ships torpedoed en route.It's told with wit and humor – and also a bit of sadness at the isolation of aging, since the phrase 'last friends' refers to those friends remaining when all the others have passed on.Excellent read! 4.3 stars. Now I want to re-read the entire trilogy.

[quondame · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In her usual hypnotic prose Gardam sketches in the last side of the triangle, and we find out some of Veneering's past, but again nothing much between 30-70. Yes, what happens in the first decades of life is immensely important to you, but what you do between 30-70 is most of what is important to the world, what makes your mark on the world (Mozart and mathematical geniuses excepted). Dulci and Fiscal-Smith don't bear much weight, and looking over a summary of [Old Filth] makes it clear how little is in this book. Jane Gardam gives us the youth and old age of her protagonists, so salad and cheese, but I'd feel more satisfied with a good pudding and a slab of meat.

[thorold_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Last friends moves the perspective to Feathers's rival, Sir Terry Veneering, and to another barrister who has played rather a minor role in the story up to now, Fiscal-Smith. It turns out that whilst everyone else is a Child of Empire, these two rather anomalously grew up in a Catherine Cookson novel. Somehow, the plunge into back-to-backs, flat caps, coal-carts and gleaning on the beach didn't feel quite right in the light of the rest of the story (although I'm sure Gardam, who grew up in the North-East in the thirties herself, is well-qualified to write about it). But the real interest of this one is not so much that additional background as the investigation into the way old age and the ticking of the clock pressures you to change the way you handle your relations with contemporaries and younger people. Resentments, secrets and passions are still there, but can you afford to let them get between you and the last few people who have any understanding of the things you have lived through?

[donna828 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"Old Filth, Terry Veneering, Fred Fiscal-Smith. Two accounted for, life completed. And in the shadows, like a little enigmatic scarecrow, Fiscal-Smith, born to be a background character." (Pg. 133)Jane Gardam concludes the Old Filth trilogy in a satisfactory manner giving closure to the stories of Terry Veneering and the unloved Fiscal-Smith. This one was pretty light with a whimsical touch. It was a realistic story of aging. It must be difficult to be left behind when your best friends die. Fred Smith was always the third wheel but now he is the last one left and this is his story along with some background on Veneering. I enjoyed the book, although Old Filth remains my favorite of the trilogy. I'll definitely be reading more books by Jane Gardam.

[bostonbibliophile · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very satisfying conclusion to the Old Filth series, focusing on Terry Veneering, Filth's rival and Betty's lover. I loved the ending given for minor character Fiscal-Smith (we finally learn his first name!) and the details of Veneering's story. I think this book needs to be read last, though you can read the first two in either order. Gardam is a wonderful writer, so subtle and funny and exacting in her choices. The whole series is just great and this book brings it all around to a very nice end.

[laura400 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Last Friends is a wonderful book by a graceful writer. The third volume of a trilogy, it happily lives up to the prior two installments.As a whole, the trilogy portrays a love triangle among three characters, with each volume focusing on one of them. It also shows us British society passing out of the age of colonialism and into the modern world. The conventions and class constrictions of the past stultified or harmed all of the characters, yet, even so, the last friends remaining can't help mourning that mythologized past, just as they bemoan the absence of china tea cups on modern trains.It is a classic novel, modern but with open nods to Dickens and Hardy. And as in Dickens, it seems Gardam has no unimportant characters. In this volume especially, the minor characters are in many ways more vivid than the major ones. The bit players become the heart of this last story, as the last friends who remain.Gardam's light but sure touch is remarkable; she makes it all seem easy. This is highly recommended.

[eye_gee-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Through the reminiscences of a heretofore minor character, this book provided missing pieces of the backgrounds of Old Filth, Betty and Veneering. And I liked it but not as much as the prior two books. I love Gardam's prose but sometimes I wish she would slow down a bit so I could absorb all that's going on. There is still much more I'd like to know about Isobel, and the man in the wooden hat, and Veneering's parents, and Sir...it seems we've just scratched the surface of this world. I wish there were more books yet to come in the series.

[japaul22 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is the last novel in a three novel set that explores the life of an aging group of friends/colleagues that were British lawyers that worked in Hong Kong. This last novel explores the point of view of Veneering, Fiscal-Smith, and Dulcie. I found it the least focused of the three and the least compelling. I really like the first novel in this trilogy, [Old Filth]. It is funny and interesting with great characters. But I have to say that while I appreciated the idea of the next two, to explore the same group of characters and events from alternate points of view, I didn't find them very successful. In this last book particularly, I didn't find quite enough tying it to the other books and it didn't answer some of the questions that I most cared about having answered. Overall, I loved the idea for this series, but I would have been just fine simply reading the first book, which is really great, and leaving it at that.