History YMMV / MichaelDobbs

* MagnificentBastard: Francis Urquhart plots, schemes, manipulates and backstabs his way up the political chain in the hopes of becoming Prime Minister, while remaining above suspicion among all of his colleagues. He commits terrible deeds, frequently exposing scandals of rivals and supposed friends, manipulating others into doing his bidding and in some cases resorting to outright murder to get his way. After becoming Prime Minister, he takes on the monarchy and is determined to remain in office longer than even Margaret Thatcher. Even after his assassination, his machinations have ensured he will be remembered as a beloved figure in British history.

* MagnificentBastard: Francis Urquhart plots, schemes, manipulates and backstabs his way up the political chain in the hopes of becoming Prime Minister, while remaining above suspicion among all of his colleagues. He commits terrible deeds, frequently exposing scandals of rivals and supposed friends, manipulating others into doing his bidding and in some cases resorts to outright murder to get his way. After becoming Prime Minister, he takes on the monarchy and is determined to remain in office longer than even Margaret Thatcher. Even after his assassination, his machinations have ensured he will be remembered as a beloved figure in British history.

* MagnificentBastard: Two words — Francis Urquhart.

* HilariousInHindsight: Dobbs has an uncanny ability to [[{{Foreshadowing}} foreshadow]] RealLife events with his fiction.
** First published in 1989, ''House of Cards'' dealt with a succession contest that occurred after the resignation of the Prime Minister. A year later, UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher resigned, and one of those took place for real.
** ''To Play the King'' was published in 1992, the year of the British Royal Family's ''annus horibilis''.
** ''Whispers of Betrayal'', in which a group of disaffected but determined individuals attempts to bring a city it its knees, was published in 2000 — a year before 9/11 (and, given the novel's British context, five years before 7/7).
* ''First Lady'' was published in 2006, a year which saw a particularly vicious party leadership contest (that of the Liberal Democrats) and increased questions about the funding of political parties — both of which were key plot elements in that novel.

** ''Whispers of Betrayal'', in which a group of disaffected but determined individuals attempt to bring a city it its knees, was published in 2000 — a year before 9/11 (and, given the novel's British context, five years before 7/7).

* HilariousInHindsight: Dobbs has an uncanny ability to [[{{Foreshadowing}} foreshadow]] RealLife political events with his fiction.

** ''Whispers of Betrayal'', in which a group of disaffected but determined individuals attempt to bring a city it its knees, was published in 2000 — a year before 9/11 (and, given the novel's British context, five years before 7/7).

* HilariousInHindsight: Dobbs has an uncanny ability to [[{{Foreshadowing foreshadow]] RealLife political events with his fiction.

* HilariousInHindsight: First published in 1989, ''House of Cards'' dealt with a succession contest that occurred after the resignation of the Prime Minister. A year later, UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher resigned, and one of those took place for real.