Graham Steward
Men At Arms
The Guardsmen: Harold Macmillan, Four Friends and the World They Made
By Simon Ball
HarperCollins 480pp £25 order from our bookshop
So MANY EDWARDIAN biographies are brought to a close by death and severance on the Western Front that it is almost refreshing to find a book which takes the slaughter as its point of commencement. Instead of ending with the loss of life and the breaking of bonds, The Guardsmen emphasises the extent to which that war shaped the outlook of four Etonians and their subsequent careers in public life and the Conservative Party.
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
'"Dutch Light" roots its subject in his local environment, explaining, for example, how an abundance of sand for making glass led naturally to a thriving business in optical instruments in Holland.'
Patricia Fara on the life & work of Christiaan Huygens.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/through-the-magnifying-glass
Sign up to our e-newsletter!
Get highlights from the new issue and selected archive articles, as well as exclusive competitions and subscription offers delivered straight to your inbox.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/freenewsletter
'We may not be able to shield ourselves from irrational passions such as hatred, anger, envy, mockery and pride, or from the buffetings of circumstance, but we can rise above them by obtaining insight into their nature and their causes.'
https://literaryreview.co.uk/the-poetry-of-reason