Review:
A magnificent saga of public and private lives, politics and society, peace and war ... I was captivated from beginning to end (Charlotte Mosley)
Immensley readable ... compelling (Victoria Schofield, Financial Times)
Colin Clifford has woven their complex story together with great skill and judgment (Artemis Cooper, Daily Mail)
Full of quirky detail ... tolerant of the central figures and steeped in the forgotten atmosphere of their time, its customs and ethos, its lanquage, habits and heroes (Isabel Quigly, The Oldie)
Far more gripping than fiction (Jane Ridley, The Spectator)
An extraordinary family in times of triumph and catastrophe, wonderfully and painfully delineated. I was engrossed (Antonia Fraser)
A Forsythe Saga of real life (Sunday Telegraph)
Could hardly have been better done (Philip Ziegler, Literary Review)
An incredible account of a remarkable family at a pivotal point in 20th century history. It also paints a vivid picture of Edwardian politics and society, and the people who were at its nucleus. (This England)
Compelling saga ... expertly researched ... incisive portrait ... (This England)
From the Author:
Since two of your reviewers have expressed the view that they would have liked more politics in my book, I should point out that I am presently working on a (mainly political) biography of Asquith himself which (hopefully) should provide all the material they want on the Lloyd George/Asquith relationship. So far as 'The Asquiths' itself is concerned, I would say that it is almost impossible to satisfy everybody in a book of this scope – and I would much rather that readers want more, than they think I have bored them silly with too much on a particular aspect of the subject. This book is essentially the story of the Asquith family in the first two decades of the twentieth century - with politics and the Great War providing the background. In fact, I have deliberately kept politics to the minimum necessary to understand the family's story: even so, I've had a number of comments that there was too much! Anyway, I can promise those readers who are interested in the politics of the era, that 'the best is yet to come' – so please be patient!
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