Literary Depiction
Baker is depicted as Martin York in Muriel Spark's novel "A Far Cry from Kensington". York, like Baker, is sentenced to seven years' imprisonment "for multiple forgeries and other types of fraud"; the date of his imprisonment is also 1 December 1954. In the novel, Nancy Hawkins (based on Spark) describes how Martin York frequently makes promises to publish books written by his friends, but the books they write are not always acceptable, and she turns down one manuscript from a friend of York's who had been offered a contract during a drinking session. York relays to Hawkins advice to send a cheque for a random amount in income tax, so that it cannot be tallied with any amount owing and results in the taxpayers' file being passed around and eventually lost. She describes seeing York signing documents in his own handwriting but in other people's names. York remarks to Hawkins that "if it is widely enough believed that you have money and wealth, it is the same thing as having it. The belief itself creates confidence and confidence, business".
Read more about this topic: Peter Baker (British Politician)
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