TWO RIVERS OPTIONS SIMON KUPER’S “INCISIVE, INSIGHTFUL AND TIMELY” BOOK
Leading Nations indie Two Rivers Media, has acquired the film and TV rights to Chums, the new book by Simon Kuper, which has just entered the top 10 of The Sunday Times Bestseller list.
The inside story of how a group of well-connected young Tories at Oxford University went on to conquer Britain, Chums is the enthralling, exhilarating and shocking tale of a very powerful 80s clique and their dramatic rise to authority. It reveals how this tiny caste of elite British society rose from privilege and public school to dominate and shape contemporary Britain.
Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, David Cameron, George Osborne, Theresa May, Dominic Cummings, Daniel Hannan, Jacob Rees-Mogg: Oxford has produced most of the prominent Conservative politicians of our time. Many walked straight out of the world of student debates onto the national stage and brought their university politics with them. Eleven of the 15 postwar British prime ministers went to Oxford. This narrowest of talent pools has shaped the modern country. In Chums, Simon Kuper traces how the rarefied and privileged atmosphere of Oxford University - and the friendships and worldviews it created - helped give us today's Britain.
Widely reviewed over the past week since its publication on 28 April 2022 by Profile Books, Chums has been widely acclaimed: “a penetrating analysis … perceptive and full of surprises” said The Observer; The Sunday Times adding “it is the array of stories, quotes and anecdotes that makes this such a gripping read. Simon Kuper … exposes the hidden depths of the establishment and the inextricable link to Eton and, in particular, Oxford University”; with the New Statesman calling it “incisive, insightful and timely.”
Alan Clements, Managing Director, Two Rivers Media, says: “We have all heard tales of the infamous Bullingdon Club and witnessed the influence of Cameron, Johnson, May, Gove, Mogg et al, in the tumultuous decade for British society, which they have largely overseen. What makes Chums such an interesting book is its all-encompassing look at this era of Oxford University students and their alma mater, written by someone who was actually there. With a diversity of voices, some who revere the success of this influential group of policy makers and some who revile them. We are very excited to be prepping it as a major unscripted box set.”
A journalist writing for the Financial Times, Kuper is also published in newspapers and magazines around the world. One of the world's leading writers on football, he has penned popular titles such as Soccernomics, Barca: The Rise and Fall of the Club that Built Modern Football and The Football Men: Up Close with the Giants of the Modern Game. It was his book Football Against the Enemy, which in 1994 won the illustrious William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award. He also wrote The Happy Traitor, a biography of the British KGB agent George Blake. Chums is Simon Kuper’s seventh book.
Simon Kuper adds: “I’m delighted to be working with Two Rivers to turn this into a documentary series. I’d love this story to be told on screen.”
This option comes hot-on-the heels of Two Rivers Media announcing it has acquired the film and TV rights to The Goldenacre, a literary thriller by Philip Miller, prior to its publication in June 2022. Set in Edinburgh, The Goldenacre blends intrigue, tragedy and humour in a thrilling story about the provenance of art. In March, Two Rivers Media also announced the acquisition of the film and TV rights to Tanya Byrne’s Afterlove. Tanya Byrne’s fourth novel for a young adult audience, it follows 16-year-old Ash Persaud who falls head over heels in love with Poppy Morgan, in a gripping tale of first love with a supernatural twist.
The rights to Chums were bought by Two Rivers Media from Gorden Wise at Curtis Brown.