Kenneth Rose (1) (1924–2014)

This first of two volumes of the diaries of the biographer and columnist Kenneth Rose is a very enjoyable read if you are interested in the social and political history of the governance of England between the end of WW2 and Mrs Thatcher's coming to power

Rose mentions the diaries of both Chips Channon and James Lees-Milne, which are better known diaries from at least some of this period. However, Rose's diary is rather different from those – much less about himself (although his kindness and somewhat delicate character come out) and much more about the people he is talking about. His opinion of those other two diarists is not high – at one point he describes Channon as 'stupid' although he does allow that the diaries (then available only in the expurgated form - I wonder what he would have made of the more recent full version) give a good insight into society; as for Lees-Milne, he is beyond the pale.

The best part of Rose's work is probably the many funny stories about famous people he retells. This is a very funny book. It also is a useful corrective for the reputation of some people now regarded in a somewhat negative light. Selwyn Lloyd is an example of this and rather differently, Jeremy Thorpe.

Rose knew some of the royal family well, others less so. He is a sympathetic writer about them but not an uncritical one.

This is also a very depressing book in a way, because it shows that there are so many people in positions of power through their education and social status rather than ability. This applies almost as much to the left wing as the right.

Although in general well edited, the volume has curious footnotes. Sometimes basic information on the same person is repeated in another footnote further on; and some of the footnotes do not adequately explain context for readers with less knowledge of the times. It is also irritating that the footnotes have symbols rather than numbers, so that you have to look carefully to find the right one.… (mehr)

1429 Superior Person: A Portrait of Curzon and his Circle in late Victorian England, by Kenneth Rose (read 26 Dec 1976) This is a superlative book: one I had no idea I would enjoy so greatly. It is an account of George N. Curzon, who was born 11 Jan 1859 and died in 1925. But this book covers the years up to 1898, when he was appointed Viceroy to India, and only one chapter is devoted to the gloomy years after 1898. But the book does not suffer at all from this arrangement, since after 1898 Curzon's career was downhill. The book's account of the school years and early career of Curzon is sheer enthrallment: he was an extraordinary person and though a physical wreck an intrepid traveler. The book is almost as good as John Clive's Macaulay: The Shaping of the Historian, which was my Book of the Year in 1975.… (mehr)