I tend to focus on pre-1970 book covers but I have the English countryside on my mind after writing about Fairport Convention and Martin Carthy. The Very Last Gambado is set in East Anglia and was published in 1989.

A gambado is slang for a major scam. That’s where Jonathan Gash’s rogue antiques dealer, forger, and all-around scamp Lovejoy comes in. A movie company comes to Lovejoy land and all hell breaks loose.

Ian McShane played Lovejoy in the charming teevee series. We bonded when Lovejoy aired on A&E. That’s right, A&E used to show quality scripted programming. So it goes

I apologize in advance for any visual decapitation on the home page. I like our new format, but it’s unkind to book covers. Oh well, what the hell.