<p>"The Card" is a comic novel set in the Potteries District of Staffordshire. It chronicles the rise of Edward Henry "Denry" Machin from washerwoman's son to Mayor of Bursley. This is accomplished through luck, initiative and a fair bit of cheek or chutzpah. At age 12, Denry begins his career by altering his marks in a test sufficiently to earn him a scholarship to grammar school. At 16, he leaves school to work for Mr. Duncalf, the town clerk a...