Last Friends

Last Friends (2013) by Jane Gardam is the final book in a historical fiction trilogy set in Hong Kong just after World War II. The trilogy follows three characters: the British-born lawyer Edward Feathers, his wife, Betty, and Edward's rival and Betty's on-again-off-again lover, Terry Veneering. In Last Friends, the book is told from the perspective of Terry, as he recounts his corner of the love triangle that wreaked havoc on all three characters’ lives.

Last Friends opens at the memorial services of Sir Edward and Sir Terence, or Terry. For much of this trilogy, the stories of the protagonists are revealed after they have died, and this is particularly true for Last Friends, which details the life of Terry Veneering, but is narrated in conversation by Old Dulcie, a judge's widow, and Sir Frederick Fiscal-Smith, a long-time guest at the homes of both men. The old man and woman, though hazy in their old age, recount the anecdotes they can remember about Terry and Edward; particularly they detail Terry's childhood and rise through the rigorous ranks of the British social caste.

Terry Veneering was not born into the high status that he garnered as an adult. Rather, he was the lowly child of a coal worker and an acrobat, whose intelligence and good fortune led him toward success and his rivalry with aristocratic Sir Edward.



Terry's mother, Florrie, sold coal in the streets of London. Her husband, Terry's father, Anton, was a Russian-born acrobat, prized for his physical acumen and agility until his career was crushed by an injury during an act. A mysterious character, Anton might have been a Russian spy—regardless, his career as a dancer and acrobat ended when he broke his back during a circus accident. Florrie, who was in the audience that day, felt deeply for Anton and nursed him back to health.

Florrie remained committed to her husband and her son until the end of her days, raising Terry to be a bright, loving boy with a deep respect for women. Terry shows his brilliance at an early age, learning several languages and spending a lot of his time gazing out at the sea, and studying life on the shore. At the beach, Terry is discovered by a prominent London lawyer, who is so impressed by the boy that he decides to invest in his education.

From there, Terry ends up at Ampleforth College, where he and Edward vie for top honors and share the top two seats on their bar exam final results. This begins the rivalry between Edward and Terry that will last until both men are dead—in a final moment of irony, they die within months of each other.



The novel reiterates some moments from Edward and Betty's sagas through Terry's lens, as he falls madly in love with Betty, who is already married to arrogant and distant Edward. Terry remains loyal to Betty even after her early death, punching a man in Malta who speaks poorly of her memory. This heartfelt portrait of love and honor colors the already complex picture of a marriage that Gardam paints in earlier volumes. Also developed are the characters of Old Dulcie and Sir Frederick, the narrators who also invite readers to consider the constricting limits of social class in Britain during this period, as well as peculiar social customs.

Born in 1928, British author Jane Gardam writes books for children and adults. She published her first book in 1975. Her books have been adapted for radio and television, and she has also written a memoir about her childhood in Yorkshire. She is a member of PEN and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She has won multiple Whitbread Novel Awards, been shortlisted for a Booker Prize, and was awarded a Heywood Hill Literary Prize for a distinguished career in the arts, among other honors.