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High Society

ben elton

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The war on drugs has been lost, but afraid to face that fact, the whole world is rapidly becoming one vast criminal network. From the Groucho Club toilets to the poppy fields of Afghanistan, we are all partners in crime, and this story takes us through the landscape it has created.

380 pages, Paperback

First published August 1,2002

This edition

Format
380 pages, Paperback
Published
January 1, 2003 by Black Swan
ISBN
9780552999953
ASIN
0552999954
Language
English

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About the author

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ben elton

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Ben Elton was born on 3 May 1959, in Catford, South London. The youngest of four, he went to Godalming Grammar school, joined amateur dramatic societies and wrote his first play at 15. He wanted to be a stagehand at the local theatre, but instead did A-Level Theatre Studies and studied drama at Manchester University in 1977.

His career as both performer and writer encompasses some of the most memorable and incisive comedy of the past twenty years. His ground breaking work as a TV stand-up comedian set the (high) standard of what was to follow. He has received accolades for his hit TV sit-coms, The Young Ones, Blackadder and The Thin Blue Line.

More recently he has had successes with three hit West End musicals, including the global phenomenon We Will Rock You. He has written three plays for the London stage, including the multi-award-winning Popcorn. Ben's international bestselling novels include Stark, Inconceivable, Dead Famous and High Society. He won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Award for the novel Popcorn.

Elton lives in Perth with his Aussie wife Sophie and three children.

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Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
34(34%)
4 stars
32(32%)
3 stars
34(34%)
2 stars
0(0%)
1 stars
0(0%)
100 reviews All reviews
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beluamarina
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Have to admit to finding the character stereotypes a little irritating initially and the storyline a little sluggish. The turning point was when the young girl went cold turkey. I was compelled to carry on as I do wanted to know her destiny
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DevLog
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Some people may find it irritating that the author progresses the story by having various different characters narrate the events, hence the four stars.
I was not at all put off by this, however. Each character adds his or her own knowledge and experience to the storyline, building an overall picture of the drug culture in Britain.
Being a Ben Elton, however, the book is not without its quirkier moments (I especially enjoyed the representations of the Birmingham, or "Brummie" accent) and there are plenty of twists and turns in the plot leading up to its optimistic ending.
A book that sets the reader thinking and one I would highly recommend.
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NewDumal
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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I really enjoy Ben Elton’s books. This one is very readable with lots of dark humour. The characters are well developed and you find yourself immersed in their individual stories. The Pop Star Tommy was highly irritating but really showed the grip of fame on society. The drugs stories are detailed and disturbing and therefore the idea of legalising them via one of the main characters Peter Pagent MP becomes intriguing and even possible.

The ending is shocking, dark and quite savage. I was genuinely amazed at the level that we descended to at the end, and although there is a little light at the end of the tunnel, this is no happily ever after.

Thought provoking, which I love in a book.
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James_Monroe
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Peter Paget is a politician who is putting forward to private member's bill to legalize all drugs in the UK. Interwoven with Peter's own rise to fame and subsequent downfall, this novel also follows other members of "high society" from junkies to popstars. An entertaining read overall.
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Suntanned_Duck2
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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It took me a while to get through the book, but there was the point somewhere along the way where the stories were slowly coming together and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. This book is brilliant and is a clever way to explore a societal issue from different angles
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rosiechick
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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It's ok. You can definitely tell Ben Elton wrote it as it has a ferocious pace and delivery to it. There isn't a shyness about the subject matter either.

I didn't find it as funny as others and found it to be a bit too on the lecture-y side of things. But I do think the subject matter is interesting and it does highlight some of the absurdities and corruption around keeping drugs illegal. The characters are reasonably fleshed out too, enough to tell compelling stories with them.
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pepepipi
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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I read this when it first came out and it’s still a really good story showing all the different types of drug use and how drugs affect people in millions of different ways. It does feel a bit dated now, but still worth reading.
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