Monday 27 July 2015

The Mistresses of Cliveden - Reviewed


The Mistresses of Cliveden by Natalie Livingstone is a historical journey through the history of a building which gives a peek into the lives of the aristocracy and royalty who at various points lived there.

It is an easy read and it took just three days to work my way through to page 436, where the volume’s text ends. The end notes which show the historical research which went into this book continue for another 49 pages.
The reason I think it maintains attention is that within what appears to be a weighty tome are actually five smaller sections and each is like a book within its own right. Collectively they take you through from 1642 to 1964 on a journey which on the surface appears to be full of intrigue, scandal and indiscretion.

Yet this is not a scandalous book, the writer is a regular contributor to titles such as Tatler and Harper’s Bazaar as well as being the wife of the current owner of the building. Thus, this is a measured volume which exposes only what is generally known and on occasion seeks to reinforce the positive aspects of British aristocracy and royal family, almost excusing away or minimising their misdemeanours.

The key point the author appears to be making is that these women’s stories have to be seen in the contexts of the times they were living in.

Firstly, there is Anna Maria, who lived in the aftermath of the Civil War and puritan Commonwealth. In Restoration Britain duels and women living as mistresses of men they were not married to was more normal than we would perhaps like to think. Anna Maria was a woman living in a hedonist environment where there were double standards enshrined in the higher echelons of national life. Livingstone’s tale of her life shows how the lives of wives and mistresses in this set up differed and how they also at points overlapped.

As with most of the stories in the book the description of Anna Maria’s life also explains clearly how the system of royal patronage works. This is perhaps one of the more interesting aspects of the book because we tend to think of this system as more important in Tudor times and before. Yet, we see through a range of precarious financial situations and personal relationships how important this system was to the highest echelons of society.

Next we have the story of Elizabeth Villiers, a woman whose story is most interesting as a result of her ongoing competition with Sarah, wife of the Duke of Marlborough. The competition between the women who had much to do with designing and building two of the most well known stately homes of the time is fascinating as it shows how power dynamics worked. This chapter is also interesting because it starts to give an insight into the way in which the death of a child had a devastating impact on many of these women.

Then we get to Augusta whose life from 1719 to 1772 gives us a fascinating into the rifts within the Georgian royal family. Augusta was the Princess of Wales and by the time we get to her mistress has very much changed meaning in this book. She is clearly the head of the household and a woman of integrity but not beyond working politically when needed. Indeed the political understanding and operating of these women is an interesting subtext within the book.

Of all the women in the book Augusta is perhaps my favourite, although her story is not the most interesting.

Next we get to Harriet whose story was, for me, the most engaging and the most disturbing. Being more recent and a close confidant of Queen Victoria there appears to be more material on Harriet, Duchess of Sutherland. Her story is one which is infused with politics, particularly through her friendship with Gladstone and links with royalty through her professional and personal links to Queen Victoria.

Indeed the most moving part of the book is when both Harriet and Victoria’s bereavements take place close to each other and their impacts are discussed.

What I found perhaps most difficult with this section of the book was reading so soon after watching the recent BBC Two programme Britain’sForgotten Slave Owners. This programme gave a picture of wealth at this time which often came from compensation claims. Whilst Harriet was shown to be an abolitionist advocate with regards to slavery in the USA I was conscious of the complex world in which she lived in. It is a world which history has often sought to sanitise somewhat and with that  in mind I had a mixture of feelings about this women. This uncomfortable aspect of nineteenth century history is picked up through reference to another chapter of British History which we may like to sweep under the carpet, the Highland Clearances. To be fair to the author she does pick this up but comes to no conclusion on the matter. Rather it comes across as an unfortunate aspect of history which needs to be acknowledged but not dwelt upon.

Finally we pick up on the story of Nancy Astor, first female MP to sit in the House of Commons. The anecdotes about her seem to come from a range of sources and as throughout this book material is taken from achieves and published sources but somehow there is a different feel to this part of the book. It seems that this is more sanitised and that there were less surprises found amongst the archives when it came to Astor. Perhaps this is not surprising, after all this was a media owning family who sought to control their image, at some times more successfully than at others. The key point within this chapter appears to be scorching the myth that there was a Cliveden set which was linked to Nazi Germany and the ideology of that regime. On one hand Livingstone does this successfully but on the other she highlights how the relationship between the upper echelons of society and Germany at that time was more complex than we might like to think in post-war society. As the recent pictures of the Queen from 1933 illustrate the picture was much more complex.

There is at the end of the book a description of the Profumo  Affair which involved the house and Nancy’s son.

What is missing is the writer herself. We know from the book something of her religious identity but beyond that nothing. Yet as current mistress of the house her story needs to be included, even if there was a gap between her Astor and her occupancy. I hope any revised version will include that.

Overall a book I would recommend but I would probably say wait until it comes out in paperback as £25 is somewhat high a price for this tale of five remarkable women. That said the hardback has one of the most beautiful book jackets I’ve seen. It looks and feels wonderful.

What I would add about this book is I hope BBC 4 pick it up and do a six part series (I say six part as I would like the author and current incarnation of the house included). Each woman does deserve her own programme and visually this would make a fascinating work.
I also now have somewhere else I hope to visit as this book is very much about place as much as people.

The Mistresses of Cliveden Three Centuries of Scandal, Power and Intrigue by Natalie Livingstone is published by Hutchinson. ISBN – 978-0 091-95452-9

Unseen Things Above - Reviewed


An ecclesiastical equivalent of the Archers written for the type of people who spend August Bank Holiday tweeting about the depth of the mud at Greenbelt. That's how I described Acts and Omissions by CatherineFox. This description could equally apply to the sequel Unseen Things Above, which has just been published by Marylebone House, the new fiction arm of SPCK.

This book whilst just as well observed as it’s forerunner is slightly more reflective in tone. There somehow seems more depth to it now Bishop Paul has been dispatched to the other side of the world and the focus falls more onto the other clergy in the fictional diocese of Lindchester together with one or two newcomers.

Whether you have read Acts and Omissions or this is your first visit to this fictional diocese you will warm to characters such as Dominic and Wendy – clergy who have a parish ministry and whose portrayal by the writer displays an affection clearly rooted in her own experience of meeting such people as the wife of the dean of Liverpool's Anglican cathedral.

One does wonder at points if Matt, the Archdeacon, is based upon her own husband as he at various points is referred to as “our hero” for no discernible reason. This would fit with him being the man who wins the heart of Janey, the feminist academic.

The book is fiction but with an almost ethnographic quality. As with Jeffrey Archer’s The Fourth Estate one is left wondering exactly how much is fact and how much is fiction.

This novel continues to focus on relationships but looks at them in an even more nuanced way. It highlights the CofE’s double standards which mean a heterosexual couple must marry whilst a same sex couples are barred from doing so. However the debate around equal marriage is not approached in a simplistic or polemic way. Rather this book, as with the first, is that it looks at the debate in a way which is sensitive to the complexities of a variety of positions and highlights the humanity of those involved. It shows perhaps most clearly how, in seeking to follow right practice many good people are put in positions where they find themselves having to go against their own consciences and have conversations they have no wish to. Fox appears to have shifted off the fence in this volume, I would say she provides as good an explanation of the situation in the CofE and why one way or another it must change as you could find anywhere and in a much more readable form.

Without giving the plot away it also shows the problems that overzealous activists and allies who may want to use the campaign for their own, self-centred, reasons can reek. In this case we are told early on by the narrator that the person in question is the villain of this piece. However, often similar problems are caused by allies of  good character who seek to advance the cause of equality without a knowledge of what LGBT people themselves have been doing to slowly build up good will and cause change through relationship or more subtle lobbying.

The book also guides you through the system for choosing bishops in the CofE which is enlightening.

The book is again a highly readable one which will lift a wry smile from many within the church and no doubt yet again give the reaction of “I’d never have believed it if it weren’t written by the wife of a dean” from those outside. There are insider jokes but these will not distract from the enjoyment of those who are not aware of them.

My only niggle is that the reader does not need to be told by the narrator who is the villain and who is the hero, rather it is better that they be left to make up their own mind. It felt a bit like being at the pantomime and having it spelt out who to boo and who to cheer before the characters came on stage.

This is the type of read which can be read on a train, beach or indeed anywhere else. Personally I found it the perfect end of term read to be enjoyed with a glass of good wine with something soothing on the stereo. Would I recommend it? Of course I would although I would recommend the newcomer read Acts and Omissions first. 
Note: This review first appeared on my other blog, Learning from Hagar and Co. I have now started a separate blog for reviews

Unseen Things Above by Catherine Fox is published by Marylebone House

ISBN: 978-1-910674-23-9

Go Set a Watchman Review


Ever since it was announced that a second Harper Lee book was to be published debate started to surround the book. Firstly, should it have been put out at all or was an old lady being exploited. Then when more was known about the book the discussion began to grow because Atticus Finch, inspiration to many equality activists, was apparently a racist. The latter led to serious debate on Channel Four News whilst the midnight release of the book also hit the news. So what is Go Set a Watchman like? Is it actually worth a read?

Well, I think the fact my daughter book the book on Wednesday and by Sunday evening it had been read by two of us and was ready to go on to a third person says something in itself. The interest we had in the book is not surprising bearing in mind the media frenzy I have already referred to and the fact that both of us had studied To Kill A Mockingbird for GCSE, over 20 years apart, and it had left an imprint on us both. Yet, that is not enough to account for the speed with which we devoured the book. It holds ones attention and is highly readable because it continues to raise questions you want to know the answer to throughout.

In this review I am assuming that you have a knowledge of To Kill A Mockingbird, simply because I don’t know anybody who doesn’t. If you happen to be the exception I would suggest you read that first.

This was written before Mockingbird and is rawer and in some ways more uncompromising. Set in 1950’s rural Alabama the geography described is somewhat alien to some of us, yet the central themes continue to reoccur in one form or another and that is why I believe that this book is not only a good read but a crucial read to engage with. The fact it is a sequel but written previously to Mockingbird does mean one feels occasionally that characters who were in that book are occasionally squeezed in with awkward explanations of why they are not key characters within this text.

Firstly, there is the theme of racism placed centrally in the book which seeks to explore the complexities of a time of change when the civil rights movement was growing from the viewpoint of the time itself. The use of the N word throughout jars in a book published today, but sits perfectly in a book written in the past.

Reading the book one is forced to ask what is racism, who is racist, how should it be dealt with and are what are the problems of being colour blind when it comes to race and ethnicity.

Alongside this and intertwined with it are issues of how one relates to their aging parents and how does the young adult who has escaped a suffocating environment deal with family when they return. The description of Atticus’ 

Then there is the question of how the person coming back home deals with the change they will inevitably encounter when they don’t necessarily expect that change.

There is also the key them of class division and attitudes towards those labelled as “white trash” and the barriers put in the way of those so defined.

Religion also plays a part in the book as a recent Huff article explained. There was a part which I found particularly amusing regarding a change in structure in the local Methodist Church and the debates around music. It was so funny because 60 years on and thousands of miles away it could just as likely happen today.

The way in which the church can help maintain social control and the hypocrisy sometimes involved is also highlighted in a wider debate which the book contains about the place the collective conscience should have in society.

There is also a love story within the book which echoes of reality rather than sentimentality.

Was I glad I read it? Yes, as I indicated it was a very good read. Did it disillusion me? Yes, but in a good way. By the end of the book I understood why the book had to be written in the form it was and why it may have been a good thing that a purely fictional character, who we could invest so much in simply because he was a literary creation rather than a real fallible person, was shown not to be what we as a society had made him.

Did I feel comfortable at the end of the book? No, of course not. It is not a “nice” read, it challenges and confronts but in my mind it is no bad thing when one is forced to think by a book.
Note: This review first appeared on my other blog Learning from Hagar and Co but this is the blog I am now using for reviews

Young 'Uns - Another Mans Ground Reviewed


If you are a folkie you are probably aware of The Young‘Uns who were the winners of this years best group award at the Radio Two Folk Awards and this April released Another Man’s Ground their third album. I had a broad awareness of them but receiving the CD out of the blue as a surprise random gift from a friend bought them fully into my consciousness. It was a well chosen prezzie and as you read the review which follows bear in mind it was written by a totally unrepentant folkie. 

It is an album which mixes original material, with traditional tunes and more contemporary covers.

The first track is Jimmy Go Down to Your Uncles and it is a beautifully harmonised piece which has something of the Dubliners about it.

One of the two stand out songs is the second song You Won’t Find Me on Benefits Street. This combines left wing traditional folk with a contemporary theme. It is apparently inspired by a group of Stockton residents who chased off the makers of the reality TV show; a programme which has given rise to many complaints about the stigmatisation of the poor. As with the best folk songs it combines humour, politics and storytelling.

The Streets of Lahore is another lyrical tale but one with no humour just a stark message to those who believe that honour killing is ok. It tells the story of Farzeena Parvene who was killed on the streets of Pakistan in 2014 in an honour killing which took place on the streets of Lahore.

The tone is lifted by a wonderful version of Billy Bragg’s Between the Wars. This is clearly sing-a-long time and much of the album indeed sounds like it would work best with a bunch of friends listening together late in the evening with a few glasses of cider, wine or ale on the table.

The Drift From the Land tells the story of those who move from the rural countryside to the industrial town through rural necessity. It is in some ways a generic folk modern folk song theme and is probably the weakest song on this strong album. That said, it’s certainly not a chore to listen to with it’s clear vocals and harmonising. I’m sure it probably works really, really well live and loses something on a recording.

Private Hughes begins brings in piano and has a different sound to much of the material here. It is a gentle and lilting tune with a sweet but melancholy theme.

The slight drift into mediocrity which the previous two tracks give is well and truly broken with Tom Paine’s Bones which is an amazing tune. It is a great song with beautiful lyrics and more of a danceable beat. The lyrics of this song by Graham Moore are catchy and more Braggesque in style.

The Brisk Lad is a traditional tune which sounds really contemporary. It has a warm feel to it.

Waiting for the Ferry finds the piano back in the mix and again you find yourself feeling like you should be snuggled up in front of a fire or chilling outside of a tent as you listen. It’s the sort of track which gives you a hug as you listen.

Then it is on to School Days Over which is a Ewan McColl cover. It is another sing along tune which pays homage to the more modern tradition which they have come out of and really shows off their harmonising and strengths of their unaccompanied voices.

There is almost break as they go into Tenting Tonight, a strong peace song. This tune has that feel of folk which is almost like gospel and it almost sounds like a hymn being sung. This is not surprising as it has its roots in the American Civil War.

The peace theme and quasi religious feel is continued in Brewster and Wagner, although this is a darker song in tone. The album ends on a note which underlines what is so good about this group their ability to sing unsentimental lyrics in a way which is beautiful and touching.

Really glad I encountered this album which comes into the get it if you are a folkie and try it if you’re not category. Now just need to catch them live some time. I’m not going to make it to Folk East to see them….but if you can get along I highly recommend both the festival and the band to you. 
Note: This review first appeared on my other blog Learning from Hagar and co, prior to me setting up this blog specifically for reviews