For Love or Money

For Love or Money was Tim Jeal's first novel, accepted for publication in 1966 while he was still an undergraduate at Oxford. It is the story of temporary gentleman George, who lives as a kept man with Ruth, the older woman he stole from a wealthy peer, but whose relatively comfortable country life is threatened by his difficult relations with Ruth's two sons.


'A first novel of genuine merit... Pointed and witty, with good dialogue and brisk backgrounds.' Evening Standard


'A subtle five finger exercise... A beautifully complex and compassionate creation.' Francis King, Sunday Telegraph


'Harshly uncompromising... The action screws together with an engineer's precision, but Tim Jeal's ability and insight give unity to the whole.' Sunday Times


'Written in a style that is sophisticated and simple, acute and dogged... [Mr Jeal's] book really has no faults.' New Yorker