It never stops. And we hardly know where to start. If you like conspiracy theories, you’ll see them piled high in this multiple exposé that tries to bring everything in on the Clinton act - Watergate, Iran-Contra, Oklahoma, Waco, Bilderberg, JFK Jr., Yale, Bush, the Rockefellers, polluted rivers, cocaine…

I usually mistrust conspiracy theories, believing the other view of history (Murphy’s Law) to be more reliable, if less fun. But noticing the length of this volume, I was looking forward to an in-depth analysis of Vince Foster, Hillary’s mentor in the legal profession, whom I had always seen as the virtuous victim. I don’t any longer. According to this version, Foster’s record turns out to be every bit as dodgy as the rest of them.

The dirt-poor state of Arkansas is at the root of the story. It enabled Bill to play the Jimmy Stewart role - a good plain country boy, poor but honest, with no fine-and-fancy ideas. But it turns out that not many of the Clinton set had been ready to settle for humble serfdom. They found ways round, principally by making a fine art of lying. The corruption of the Arkansas state government is the main narrative, and it can turn your stomach with its shocking repercussions. (Let’s say they had rather a short way with whistleblowers.) And if you ever wondered why a sophisticated college-girl from faraway Chicago would choose to dirty her hands in this snake-pit, then you have much to learn about the hidden half of Hillary Rodham.