The City Of London Volume 3: Illusions of Gold 1914 - 1945 - Softcover

This is the third instalment of David Kynaston's historical quartet on the financial powerhouse that is the City of London. In Illusions of Gold: 1914-1945, he looks at the period covering the two world wars, the return to the gold standard, the Wall Street Crash and the 1930s' depression. These were momentous years in which the City sought to regain its pre-1914 dominance over international finance but found itself increasingly overwhelmed by the leverage exerted by New York, by politicians anxious for votes, by trade unions and by provincial industrialists. Economic historians have long juggled with statistics and speculated with theories about the inter-war economy but Illusions of Gold brings these rather dry academic debates to life with a colourful blend of anecdote, vignette and character sketch, based on an impressive breadth of research and an unrivalled knowledge of the dramatis personae of the square mile--from eminent bankers such as Lord Revelstoke of Barings to cads and schemers like Clarence Hatry. Inevitably, much of the book focuses on Montagu Norman, the Governor of the Bank of England from 1920 to 1944. Norman, the brunt of most criticism of inter-war economic policy then and since, emerges as a complex and cosmopolitan figure, though one suspects that ultimately the author agrees with J.M. Keynes' view of him: "Always absolutely charming, always absolutely wrong". --Miles Taylor

"A fascinating book, deeply researched and admirably written by an author who is a master of his subject and also of the light touch" (Evening Standard)

"A splendidly entertaining history... This book is both immensely readable and an invaluable guide to a set of institutions whose role in British political and economic history is imperfectly understood" (Sunday Telegraph)

"David Kynaston's achievement... is to make the whole thing read like a novel... An altogether exceptional book" (D. J. Taylor Guardian)

"The City has never been good at justifying or explaining itself to the wider world, but in David Kynaston it has found a wonderfully gifted and diligent interpreter" (Daily Telegraph)

"A magnificent book" (Sunday Times)