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Bezig met laden... Phoenix: The Whispering Gallery: Leaves from a Diplomat's Diarydoor Hesketh Pearson
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 Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek.  the.ken.petersen | Mar 5, 2012 |  geen besprekingen | voeg een bespreking toe
This fake diary was the subject of a famous court case at which the author (revealed to be Hesketh Pearson) was acquitted. 'Among the diplomats of Europe my name is a household word' notes the author. 'I say this in no boastful spirit. It just happens to be so'. And so, indeed, it seems. For here are intimate recollections of the author's friends and acquaintances in high social and diplomatic circles right across Europe during the first decades of the 20th century - from Lord Northcliffe, 'The Napoleon of Fleet Street' to Warriors (Kitchener, Marshal Joffre); Empire Builders (Rhodes, Chamberlain); Three Caesars (Kaiser Wilhelm, Tsar Nicholas, Emperor Francis Joseph); Two Despots (Lenin, Mussolini) to Kings, Scribblers, Statesmen, and assorted other luminaries including Lord Leverhulme - The Soap King - Lady Astor and Max Beerbohm. At once hilarious and illuminating, these 'recollections' of the great movers and shakers of the early 20th Century actually provide wonderfully subtle and colourful descriptions of just how they moved and shook the public, and - in smoke-filled rooms - their equally ambitious associates. The portraits are full of insight and remain indelibly imprinted o Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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 Google Books — Bezig met laden...GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)940.51History and Geography Europe Europe 1918- 1918-1929LC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde: (3.75)
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I see from the rubric to this book, that LibraryThing has the author as Hesketh Pearson. This is factually accurate but, certainly, his name did not appear anywhere in the first edition. This was supposed to be the ramblings of a senior diplomat, giving his views upon various men of substance. Mr Pearson had an interesting life, and little time for those who considered themselves above the hoi polloi. He ruthlessly belittled these great men (the book was written in 1926, a time when - even more so than today - it was great MEN) and the book became a best seller.
Naturally, the targets of Pearson's satire were less than impressed and Hesketh very nearly landed in clink. Pearson went on to become a first class biographer. His style was more natural than many of his forebears, a real trip beneath the skin of his subject, as opposed to a long list of a person's attainments.
It has to be said, that I did not recognise many of the people he lampooned and, this did end up being a dip book which produced a few chuckles. An interesting addition to one's library, but not something I shall be reading too often. (