Literally a doorstopper of a book, with 900 hefty pages of reading material, but a fascinating insight into British elite society during the interwar period. The man himself came from an American shipping family, and was able to subsist off an allowance from them for most of his adult life, becoming a failed novelist, and an undistinguished Tory MP, but money proved an invaluable networking tool, with Channon "becoming more English than the English themselves" and establishing firm connections with British and European nobility and royalty, along with the associated lifestyle. The hypocrisy of the era is laid bare, with the author engaging in a homosexual relationship for much of the Twenties, and while the upper classes acknowledged such activities occurred, scandal could only be avoided if conducted in secret, with more than one lord forced into public disgrace. Likewise, the political mores of the Thirties play out in real time, with Channon making little bones of his admiration for Franco, Mussolini and Hitler, advocacy of appeasement, and support for Edward VIII right until the point where such became untenable. Volume One ends upon the Munich Agreement, so it remains to be seen not only how our protagonist will react to WWII, but also the more egalitarian era of the late Forties and Fifties, which renders the pre-war "season" obsolete.
-
-
He married into Guinness family didnt he which I understood to be the source of his lifestyle funding. Seem to remember passing this up at 99p daily Kindle deal and have regretted it since. -
Will probably be in your local library, ale - wouldn't have seen it myself otherwise.Comment
-
I once saw Paul Channon in the American Bar at the Savoy.Comment
-
This sounds right up my alley, but I've got too many tomes to juggle already.Comment
-
He was already wealthy enough from his American family fortune, but marriage to a Guinness would have made him even more comfortable. And he was fine with divorcing her when his latest boyfriend turned out to be "the one".Originally posted by ale View Post
Chips got his name because while at Oxford he shared a "bachelor house" with a fellow called Fish. So he became Chips.
That whole Guinness/Mitford/Mosley set are both fascinating and repugnant, although mostly the latter.Comment
-
He was the MP for Southend West for 25 years.
The seat had previously been held by his mother in law, who won it after her husband (the previous incumbent) became an Earl.
After Chips died, the seat was held by his son Paul for another 38 years,
Comment
-
This thread reminds me of BDG's cartoon in which he drew Arsenal director Sir Chips Keswick as having an actual bag of chips for a head, or something like that. It's an even more ridiculous name than Sarah Palin gave to any of her kids.Comment
-
And Paul was succeeded by David Amess of course, and now I believe Paul's son is going to be the new MP.Originally posted by ursus arctos View PostComment
-
Originally posted by The Bean Counter View Post
The Conservative candidate for the by-election appears to be someone called Anna Firth.Comment
-
Paul Channon's only son died aged 51 a week or so after Amess was killed. He only has one daughter left, the other one memorably OD'd at Oxford during his political career in the 80s.
Anna Firth is seemingly just a Tory councillor, unconnected to Channon or Amess.Comment
-
Yes, apologies, it seems my sources are not very good! It looks like his daughter-in-law applied for the Conservative candidacy, but was not selected.
Seems Anna Firth is CEO of some company that runs academies and was a councillor for Sevenoaks which is obviously nowhere near Southend. Suggests to me she might have been central office's preferred candidate.Comment
Comment