The Irresistible Inheritance of Wilberforce: A Novel in Four Vintages
Paul Torday
Weidenfeld and Nicholson
London
2008
308
£12.99
ISBN: 9780297851592
This is the sequel to the very successful Salmon Fishing in the Yemen and is an engaging and quirky tale, told backwards, of the eponymous hero's consumption of several bottles of claret each day and the consequences of drinking such large quantities of expensive French wine. In the opening pages Wilberforce spends about £6000 on two bottles of Petrus while dining alone, and by page 55 the question of Wernicke encephalopathy has arisen (although don't forget that parts …