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House of Cards (novel)House of Cards is a political thriller novel by British author Michael Dobbs. Published in 1989, it tells the story of Francis Urquhart, a fictional Chief Whip of the Conservative Party, and his amoral and manipulative scheme to become leader of the governing party and, thus, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

A television adaptation, written by Andrew Davies and produced by the BBC was aired in 1990. A six-part radio adaptation of the first novel, written by Neville Teller aired on BBC Radio 4 in 1996. In 2013, the serial and the Dobbs novel were the basis for a US television adaptation set in Washington, D.C., commissioned and released by Netflix.

The novel was followed by two sequels: To Play the King and The Final Cut. Both were adapted for television by the BBC and aired in 1993 and 1995 respectively.

Plot
Following the resignation of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the ruling Conservative Party is about to elect a new leader. In the subsequent leadership election, the moderate but indecisive Henry "Hal" Collingridge emerges victorious. Francis Urquhart, an MP and the Government Chief Whip in the House of Commons, is secretly contemptuous of the well-meaning but weak Collingridge, but expects a promotion to a senior position in the Cabinet. After the general election, which the party wins by a reduced majority, Urquhart submits a memorandum to Collingridge advocating a cabinet reshuffle that would include a prominent ministerial position for Urquhart himself. However, Collingridge � citing Harold Macmillan's political demise after the 1962 Night of the Long Knives �- effects no changes at all. Urquhart resolves to oust Collingridge.

Urquhart exploits his position as Chief Whip to leak inside information to the press to undermine Collingridge, ultimately forcing him to resign. Most of his leaks are to Mattie Storin, a young reporter for The Daily Telegraph. Urquhart then eliminates his enemies in the resulting leadership contest by means of fabricated scandals that he sets up himself or publicizes. These include threatening to publish photographs of Education Secretary Harold Earle in the company of a rent boy; causing Health Secretary Peter MacKenzie to accidentally run over a disabled man; and forcing Foreign Secretary Patrick Woolton to withdraw by blackmailing him with an audiotape of a one-night stand. His remaining rival, Environment Secretary Michael Samuels, is alleged by the press to have supported far-left politics as a university student. Urquhart thereby reaches the brink of victory.

Prior to the final ballot, Urquhart murders the party's drug-addicted and increasingly unstable public relations consultant, Roger O'Neill, whom he forced into helping him to remove Collingridge from office. Urquhart invites O'Neill to his country house near Southampton, gets him drunk, and puts rat poison in his cocaine.

Mattie untangles Urquhart's web and confronts him in the deserted roof garden of the Houses of Parliament. He commits suicide by jumping to his death.

Revision
After the initial TV series the author revised the published novel to bring it in line with the UK TV series, in which Urquhart throws Mattie from the roof rather than committing suicide, thus allowing for a continuation of the story. The name of the newspaper that Mattie Storin works for was changed from The Daily Telegraph to the fictional The Chronicle, same as the TV series.

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