The Denmark-based house Gyldendal is about to release a Danish edition of Michael Dobbs's novel House of Cards that will be the first to feature new revisions by the author. The book received renewed interest after serving as the basis for the popular (and critically acclaimed) Netflix series of the same name, starring Kevin Spacey, based off of an adapted BBC series. Gyldendal will publish its new edition on November 4, and plans are in the works for English language editions of the revised work, as well.
Dobbs, whose former government jobs included working as an adviser to Margaret Thatcher, published House of Cards, his first book, in 1989. The novel went on to serve as the basis of a 1990 BBC series. Gyldendal, which controls only the Danish rights to the novel, recently approached Dobbs to re-examine the ending of the novel. While doing so, he decided to re-examine the whole book, and the new edition features plot changes, as well as alterations to the backstory of the central character, Francis Urquhart. Gyldendal said Dobbs also has "tightened [the] dialogue" and created a story that is "cooler and even wickeder."
Agent Paul Moreton at the London-based Bell Lomax Moreton, which controls the English language rights to the book, confirmed that the novel is not currently available in the States. In the U.K., print rights are controlled by HarperCollins (which also did the currently out-of-print U.S. edition), while the digital rights are with S&S. Moreton said he will "soon" be able to reveal publishing plans for a revised U.K. edition. Moreton also confirmed that his agency is currently talking to U.S. publishers about a new edition in the States.