---
product_id: 260332658
title: "The Singapore Grip: NOW A MAJOR ITV DRAMA (W&N Essentials)"
brand: "j.g. farrell"
price: "₨343"
currency: SCR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.sc/products/260332658-the-singapore-grip-now-a-major-itv-drama-w-n
store_origin: SC
region: Seychelles
---

# The Singapore Grip: NOW A MAJOR ITV DRAMA (W&N Essentials)

**Brand:** j.g. farrell
**Price:** ₨343
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** The Singapore Grip: NOW A MAJOR ITV DRAMA (W&N Essentials) by j.g. farrell
- **How much does it cost?** ₨343 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sc](https://www.desertcart.sc/products/260332658-the-singapore-grip-now-a-major-itv-drama-w-n)

## Best For

- j.g. farrell enthusiasts

## Why This Product

- Trusted j.g. farrell brand quality
- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Description

The Singapore Grip: NOW A MAJOR ITV DRAMA (W&N Essentials)

## Images

![The Singapore Grip: NOW A MAJOR ITV DRAMA (W&N Essentials) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/812D+CUIprL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Singapore Gripping
  

*by T***T on Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 August 2000*

15 August 2000I SIMPLY CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS WONDERFUL STORY HIGHLY ENOUGH.  I bought it purely on 'spec' as I was hunting around Amazon for any book on Singapore or the Far East (I was in a nostalgic mood for the  exotic orient - probably our lousy summer weather here in the Uk did it).  This book turned out to be an absolute treasure - Singapore in the last  months before the fall to the Japanese is brought to life with remarkable  vividness and the most loving detail.  This is a truly compelling tale, by  turns deeply poignant, hilarious, slap-stick, and bitterly ironic. Draped  everywhere are succulent vignettes of colonial life and English  eccentricity, all set against the dramatic, vast, dark tableau of the  looming war in South-east Asia. It is a very clever and cleverly told story  too.  But the characters are the real strength here - it is a real ensemble  piece, with a large and varied cast of 'players', and they are all so  fascinating and three-dimensional you will find yourself completely  captivated as you follow their progress and adventures, and watch them  interact.  An atmospheric, evocative, pungent, compelling, spell-binding  book, perfect for tucking up in bed with on a cold rainy night, which will  utterly absorb you into its streets and settings.  I EXHORT YOU to order  this book.  J.G. Farrell was unknown to me before I stumbled across this  book here at Amazon, and now I shall be ordering a couple more of his books  next.  The Singapore Grip is supposedly one of three books by Farrell  referred to by critics as Farrell's 'Empire Trilogy' - guess what I'm  ordering next!

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Better on the screen than on the page
  

*by C***L on Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 November 2020*

Back in the days when my enthusiasm for literary fiction was unbounded, and I read all the Booker prize winners when they came out, I read Farrell’s The Siege of Krishnapur and admired it immensely.  A number of years later, my husband read it and was very ambivalent; I reread it and found I didn’t like it quite as much.  I’ve never read anything else by him, but sparked by my initial enthusiasm for that book, embarked on the TV series.  With some trepidation – the obligatory shrieking and wailing about the evils of the Empire was of course in evidence.Apart from the appalling miscasting, I enjoyed it more than the book. Other than Charles Dance and the American actor playing Ehrendorf in a slightly Catch 22 manner, most of the actors looked as if they hadn’t a clue what they were doing there and didn’t begin to approximate the assurance, accents, posture or anything else of the privileged of Singapore at the time.  I decided though that there was a good story in there and started reading the book more or less simultaneously.  Hats off to the screenwriter (who got some flack, of course) for picking out the story whilst leaving out the pages and pages and pages on the history of Malayan rubber plantations, the League of Nations and other less than riveting topics.To say this book was discursive was an understatement.  It was positively Shavian in its desire to preach; characters such as Matthew spouted and spouted ad nauseam.  The characterisation was Dickensian – very black and white and slightly grotesque.  The author made it unusually clear which characters he liked and disliked. Walter Blackett was a straightforward villain – there was nothing remotely likeable about him, and most of his cronies and associates were also painted as pantomime baddies. His wife was vapid, silly and snobbish, his son (not the near adolescent of the TV series, but apparently 30 odd,) was thoroughly unlikeable.  Daughter Joan was less bitch than witch, so unpleasant was she.  The book did not imply the rather creepy quasi-incestuous relationship displayed on the series.  For some reason little daughter Kate was a goody.  Matthew Webb was depicted as appallingly boring in the book, and more of an anti-hero than hero.  He bored everyone, even his friends, witless with his prattling on, although we are shown that his heart was in the right place.  He was also described as very physically unattractive.  We are told that Vera was attracted to him only because of years of conditioning for Chinese girls to find scholarly, stooping and bespectacled men attractive because of their intelligence and the likelihood of them obtaining good occupations.  Which doesn’t read that well today.  Vera was not nearly as likeable in the book – very lovely, yes, but almost certainly a hardened liar, and with a closer acquaintanceship with dubious groups and prostitution than was portrayed on screen.  Having got her claws into old Webb, she entranced Matthew pretty effortlessly.  His affection was clearly genuine, hers probably venal.  The three male characters that O’Farrell obviously liked were the Major (not the buffoon depicted on TV) but clever, thoughtful, reflective and resourceful. (Albeit a bit prone to ruminating lengthily on the evils of the Empire).  It is revealed that he and Dupigny (a bit of a stock philosophical Frenchman) had known each other for years, meeting in the trenches of WWI.  Ehrendorf is a “good” Henry James American, so educated, suave, well-tailored and well-mannered that everyone likes him.  The military top brass were deservedly portrayed as hopeless en masse, although his portrait of the (real) Air Chief Marshal Sir Robert Brooke-Popham was quite sympathetic in its way, showing a man promoted well beyond his ability, totally unqualified for his post and vaguely aware of his unsuitability and overall inadequacy.There’s a lot of heroic firefighting, and Matthew and the Major show themselves in a good light – the baddies all make an undeserved get away and the noble trio of Matthew, the Major and Dupigny resign themselves to being captured and interned.  And there it rather peters out.  We assume, but are not  told, that they all survive, and Vera smuggles them a food parcel consisting of a sugar cube and some white mice, so she clearly made it out of the ruins of Singapore, as one surmised she would.  There’s a rather strange epilogue, which only added to the feeling that it lacked an ending.The major highlight of the book for me though, was how funny it was.  Occasionally it was laugh out loud amusing, which did serve to lighten the endless preaching somewhat.  And when not preaching, the writing was of a very high order, effortlessly conjuring up the sights, sounds and smells of Singapore.  I’ve downloaded a couple of other of J G Farrell’s books and until I’ve read them, I’m not going to say whether I consider this to be not one of his finest.  I can’t say I hugely enjoyed it though and kept going more out of a sense of duty than anything else.

### ⭐⭐⭐ 3.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Disappointing
  

*by J***K on Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 November 2020*

I find it hard to believe people have read this and awarded it 4 stars. It feels to me that the author has both literally and metaphorically lost the plot in this one.I am about half way through & struggling not to give up on this book. The writing is verbose and the sheer amount of background detail tedious in the extreme. Too late now but this should have been edited down enormously.JG Farrell has written other vastly more engaging books. I wonder if this one languished in a cupboard before somone decided to see if it would sell? Such a shame, the plot, the period, the location and the history could have made for a fascinating read.

---

## Why Shop on Desertcart?

- 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016
- 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories
- 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price
- 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members)
- 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection
- ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews

**Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.sc/products/260332658-the-singapore-grip-now-a-major-itv-drama-w-n](https://www.desertcart.sc/products/260332658-the-singapore-grip-now-a-major-itv-drama-w-n)

---

*Product available on Desertcart Seychelles*
*Store origin: SC*
*Last updated: 2026-02-16*