Campaign Ruby - Jessia Rudd (2010)

Ruby Stanhope gets an email announcing that her position with a London investment bank has been made redundant. As she goes to collect her free box to pack up her belongings, she fires back a sarky email to her bosses that goes viral. That night she attacks a timely delivery of Australian wine, and ends up purchasing herself a plane ticket to Melbourne. Staying in the Yarra Valley with her aunt, she is offered a job by Luke, the chief of staff for the Leader of the Opposition Max Masters, just as a snap election has been called. The long-sitting PM has just been ousted by his Treasurer Gabrielle Brennan. Thrust on to the hectic campaign trail, Ruby's soon jetting across the country - sometimes saving the day with her trusty toolkit, sometimes leading things astray. This is like an Australian version of Sammy's Hill by Kristin Gore (the daughter of former US vice-president Al Gore). Written by the daughter of ex-prime minister Kevin Rudd, the part that makes it so fascinating is how it details the ousting of a prime minister by the woman who becomes the nation's first female PM - which is exactly what happened to her father several months AFTER this book was finished. This is a very funny, easy-to-read debut - and would easily travel beyond Aussie shores.

Jessica Rudd, the daughter of Australia's freshly dumped prime minister Kevin Rudd, has a novel set in Federal political circles coming out in August. And the plot of Campaign Ruby may cut a bit close to home as it's centred around the overthrow of the prime minister by his female treasurer. The summary says: "When she gets the email announcing her redundancy, Ruby Stanhope hopes to maintain the composure expected of your average London investment banker. Instead, the next day's hangover brings two unfortunate discoveries. First, her impromptu reply to the bosses has gone viral, published everywhere from Facebook to the Financial Times. Second, she has a non-refundable, same-day ticket to Melbourne thanks to a dangerous cocktail of Victorian pinot noir, broadband internet and a dash of melancholy. Landing in Australia, Ruby plans a quiet stay with her aunt in the Yarra Valley - but a party at the local winery results in an unexpected job offer: financial policy adviser to the Federal Leader of the Opposition. Intrigued, Ruby heads to Melbourne for morning coffee with the Chief of Staff - and finds herself in the middle of the Treasurer's overthrow of the Prime Minister and the announcement of an early election. Rookie Ruby, dubbed 'Roo' by her Aussie colleagues, is thrown into the campaign and spends four weeks circumnavigating Australia while trying to stay afloat in the deep end of politics. Through trial and plenty of error (including wardrobe malfunctions, media mishaps and a palate for unsavoury men) she finds passion, not just a flair, for her new career." Campaign Ruby is believed to be the first in a three-book deal for Rudd, who now lives in Beijing.

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