Northcliffe

The life of Lord Northcliffe, creator of Britain's first mass market paper, The Daily Mail, was a mixture of brilliance and tragedy. Born in 1855 into a family of very modest means, he was earning a ducal income by the time he was 30 and by 1914 was the owner not only of the Mail but also of The Times, The Observer and the Daily Mirror. A master of propaganda, he used his influence to enhance Britain's image in the colonies and to gain support from America in fighting World War I. But like many self-made men, Northcliffe was a difficult character and by the end of his life his enemies were legion. This account, written by J. Lee Thompson, with full access to family, business and political archives, seeks to cut through the myth and representation to give us an objective assessment of both the private man and the public figure.