Chapter 8
Glasnost
Megan entered Dr Stanley’s office from the back of his Victorian terrace in the inner-city suburb of Paddington. Once a working-class ghetto, the suburb was now a gentrified haven. Dr Stanley was one of a dying breed of eccentric Paddington academics. Almost every surface of his office hosted towers of papers and books; a light layer of dust coated the bamboo blinds and a tawny cat sprawled over a faded green couch.
She spotted a copy of Watership Down on his bookshelf, which made her smile. She’d read it at the age of 10, after a friend had dared her to read the longest book in the school library. Megan had waded through the 400-odd pages about wild rabbits liberating domesticated ones, and had not at all understood the political commentary. But she was proud she’d f
