The feel-good place to buy books

Welcome to the world of Ed Reardon, writer and liver of life at the cutting edge. Above The Cutting Edge, to be accurate, a one-bedroom flat over a hairdresser's in Berkhamsted, where Ed has lived on his own since his wife and grown-up kids left him, forcing the sale of the London home. Ed's first (and to date last) published novel 'Who Would Fardels Bear?' was bought by Hollywood, relocated from Oldham to San Francisco and turned into a Sally Field movie ('Sister Mom') in the mid-70s. It was directed by Ed's best mate Jaz Milvane whose career has since gone stratospheric. Ed's broke up on re-entry; with the exception of his episode of Tenko in 1982, the royalties of which now amount to about GBP17 a year - but are anxiously awaited nonetheless. Ed has often been forced to do a spot of lowbrow work for the ever popular Christmas book market. Jane Seymour's Household Hints (1996) and The Brand's Hatch Story got him through a couple of winters, although sadly his own proposal for a Little Book of Publishers Rejections was turned down because it ran to over two thousand pages. Ed however remains bullishly optimistic, as the series reveals. He may have only one pair of trousers and a seven-figure Amazon sales ranking but no writer knows more about stealing his agent's stationery...and as a freeloader Ed Reardon is the acknowledged leader of his profession. ED REARDON'S WEEK tracks Ed's flawed attempts to escape poverty and gain the literary success that is surely his due...