Iris Book

Iris is innocent and Iris is also guilty. London in the 1950s: gamblers, gangsters and corrupt politicians are living the high life of greed and excess, claiming Mayfair and the East End for themselves. Iris isn't exactly a call girl-- she never takes any money for that-but she doesn't mind accepting some money for cab fare back to her dismal family flat or some champagne at glamorous restaurants. Or little gifts, for that matter. Balancing on the brink of danger, Iris gambles away her innocence, using her beauty and feigned ignorance as currency. The glittery life which has protected her all this time is about to get her back. Even the tiniest wind of change will blow her off her ever-unsure footing, sending her plummeting to the ground. In Iris Jean Marsh reveals the face of corruption and lust lying just below the mask of a prosperous London society whose post-war, pre-Beatle years show nothing amiss. It is during this epoch that a greedy few can swing from one casino to the next, leaving the innocent in their wake. But Iris is not merely acute and haunting social observation. It is a story of love and the recovery of innocence by a mistress of drama writing at the peak of her powers.Read More