Fairness

Following the well-received Jem (and Sam), Fairness is the fifth and final volume of British author Ferdinand Mount's Chronicle of Modern Twilight series though a familiarity with its predecessors is not required. At the center of the story, which spans the latter half of the 20th century, are the wistful, sexually inept Gus Cotton and the love of his life, Helen Hardress. She is a left-leaning blonde dynamo who gets involved in everything from the British miners' strike to a high-profile pedophile hunt. A big hit in England, this and other of Mount's novels have earned him comparisons to Evelyn Waugh.