
Daring to Hope
The Diaries and Letters of Violet Bonham Carter, 1946-1969
Violet Bonham Carter(Author)
Mark Pottle(Editor)
Weidenfeld & Nicolson (Publisher)
Published on 20. July 2000
Book
Hardback
442 pages
978-0-297-81651-5 (ISBN)
Description
Lady Violet Bonham Carter, daughter of the Liberal prime minister H. H. Asquith, and herself a leading Liberal, was described by Winston Churchill in 1951 as 'one of the very best speakers, male or female'. She was also a writer of distinction, Clement Attlee praising her 1965 biography of Churchill: 'Amazing that her first book, at 78, should be so good.' Its intended sequel was never written, but here, is the raw material for a worthy successor. 'Winston has many faults but he is the one great forest tree that still stands' she wrote in 1950. 'When I am with him I feel the perspective of history'. That 'perspective' is vividly captured here and a galaxy of political stars comes into view - Attlee 'feeling the Atlas weight of his responsibility' as prime minister; Anthony Eden, 'accomplishing his own destruction by the suicidal blunder of Suez'; Harold Macmillan, 'How little I dreamed that he would ever blossom into "Super-Mac"'; President Kennedy, 'Above all I had the sense of greatness - in a greater degree than I have felt it about anyone since I first met Winston at the age of 19'.
These are also the writings of an active politician with an international standing - an ardent campaigner for a United Europe: 'If we fail one realises suddenly that one is looking on at the suicide of a civilisation'; above all, a passionate Liberal struggling to save her party from extinction, and contemplating a deal with the Conservatives: 'But can one buy survival with dishonour?'
These are also the writings of an active politician with an international standing - an ardent campaigner for a United Europe: 'If we fail one realises suddenly that one is looking on at the suicide of a civilisation'; above all, a passionate Liberal struggling to save her party from extinction, and contemplating a deal with the Conservatives: 'But can one buy survival with dishonour?'
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Orion Publishing Co
Illustrations
16 b&w photos
Dimensions
Height: 120 mm
Width: 120 mm
Thickness: 39 mm
Weight
863 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-297-81651-5 (9780297816515)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Mark Pottle read modern history at the University of Sheffield and at Wolfson College, Oxford (where he is now a research fellow). He is the editor of the previous volumes of these letters & diaries.