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{{Short description|Book by Michael Dobbs}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox book
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'''''House of Cards''''' is a political thriller novel by British author [[Michael Dobbs]]. Published in 1989, it tells the story of [[Francis Urquhart]], a fictional [[Chief Whip of the Conservative Party|Chief Whip]] of the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]], and his amoral and manipulative scheme to become leader of the governing party and, thus, [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]].
A [[House of Cards (
The novel was followed by two sequels: ''[[To Play the King]]'' and ''[[The Final Cut (TV serial)|The Final Cut]]''. Both were adapted for television by the BBC and aired in 1993 and 1995 respectively.
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Following the resignation of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the ruling Conservative Party is about to elect a new leader. In the subsequent leadership election, the moderate but indecisive [[Minor characters in the House of Cards trilogy#Henry Collingridge, MP|Henry "Hal" Collingridge]] emerges victorious. Francis Urquhart, an [[Member of Parliament|MP]] and the Government Chief Whip in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]], is secretly contemptuous of the well-meaning but weak Collingridge, but expects a promotion to a senior position in the [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|Cabinet]]. After the general election, which the party wins by a reduced majority, Urquhart submits a memorandum to Collingridge advocating a [[cabinet reshuffle]] that would include a prominent ministerial position for Urquhart himself. However, Collingridge—citing [[Harold Macmillan]]'s political demise after the 1962 [[Night of the Long Knives (1962)|Night of the Long Knives]]—effects no changes at all. Urquhart resolves to oust Collingridge.
Urquhart exploits his position as Chief Whip to
Prior to the final ballot, Urquhart murders the party's drug-addicted and increasingly unstable public relations consultant, Roger O'Neill, whom he forced into helping him to remove Collingridge from office. Urquhart invites O'Neill to his [[country house]] near [[Southampton]], gets him drunk, and puts rat poison in his [[cocaine]].
Mattie untangles Urquhart's web and confronts him in the deserted roof garden of the [[Houses of Parliament]]. In response, Urquhart
===Revision===
After the initial TV series the author revised the published novel to bring it in line with the UK TV series, in which Urquhart throws Mattie from the roof rather than committing [[suicide]], thus allowing for a continuation of the story. The name of the newspaper that Mattie Storin works for was changed from ''The Daily Telegraph'' to the fictional ''The Chronicle,'' same as the TV series.
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==Adaptations==
==References==
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