D. R. Thorpe (1943–2023)

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)

Few reputations in British political history have suffered more than that of Anthony Eden. A rising young star of inter-war British politics, his career was hindered, if not crippled, by his extended tenure as heir-apparent to Winston Churchill for the leadership of the Conservative Party and the nation. Defined for a generation by his resignation in response to Chamberlain's determined policies of appeasement, his premiership will forever be remembered for the disastrous misjudgment of the Suez invasion. So tarnished has his reputation been that his family has commissioned two official biographies since his death. D. R. Thorpe's is the second, following on Robert Rhodes James' biography from nearly two decades before.

Thorpe's book is a noticeably sympathetic account of Eden's life, one which helps the reader understand the nature of his appeal. Born to a family that Thorpe characterizes as "minor aristocracy," he enjoyed a privileged childhood that was punctuated by service in the First World War. Interested in politics at an early age, he won a seat in Parliament in 1924 where he soon gained a reputation for ability in foreign policy. A little more than a decade after winning his first election, Eden was appointed Foreign Secretary. Over the next three years he faced the rise of an increasingly aggressive Germany, during which time he embraced policies that placed him increasingly out of step with his more conciliatory colleagues but did his reputation much good later on.

After his resignation in 1938 Eden quickly became a focus of Conservative dissent in the House of Commons. He was even seen by many as an alternative to the existing prime minister, Neville Chamberlain, though his slow return to office after the start of the Second World War meant that he was not a candidate when Chamberlain resigned in 1940. Eventually returning to his old job as Foreign Secretary, Eden soon emerged as Winston Churchill's successor as leader of the Conservative Party, a position he would occupy with increasing discomfort for the next fifteen years. Though eventually succeeding Churchill as Prime Minister in 1955, he faced a host of problems, most notably Nasser's nationalization of the Suez Canal the following year. Determined to regain the canal, the resulting operation proved a humiliating reversal, crippling Britain's international standing and costing Eden his premiership.

An accomplished political biographer, Thorpe offers a solid account of Eden's life, one rooted in a considerable amount of research, including numerous original interviews with people who knew Eden. Yet the book is burdened by an annoying degree of repetition of little details that seems prematurely introduced and then brought up again just a few pages later. Thorpe also seems never to have encountered a quote or an anecdote he didn't like, regardless of its relevancy to the topic being examined. Such matters distract from the overall focus of his point and diminish the broader effectiveness of Thorpe's writing.

Despite these flaws, Thorpe has provided what is the best biography of a controversial and disappointing prime minister. Though not as well written as James's earlier study, it benefits from Thorpe's extensive archival research, much of it in collections which was unavailable earlier. As such it stands as a well-supported defense of Eden's career, one infused with much respect for the man and consideration for his achievements.… (mehr)

For the past two decades, D.R. Thorpe has carved out a niche for himself by writing capable biographies of postwar British prime ministers. This is the first of the three: a complete overview of Alec Douglas-Home, the prime minister who succeeded Harold Macmillan when he retired from the premiership in 1963. Thorpe's well-researched book presents Douglas-Home as a dedicated politician who saw his career as the duty of his class, and one he performed admirably. In this respect, his brief premiership was but a single episode in a long career that spanned from his service as PPS to Nevile Chamberlain to his second period as Foreign Secretary under his successor Edward Heath. Thorpe relates all of this in a book that is sympathetic but not uncritical towards its subject, a decent man often overshadowed by the larger political personalities of his era.… (mehr)