{"title":"Books by Richard Davenport-Hines","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780008285722","title":"History in the House","description":"A Spectator Best Book of the Year; An Aspects of History Best Book of the Year; An Engelsberg Ideas Best Book of the Year                                Five hundred years ago, Thomas Wolsey endowed in Oxford a foundation he called Cardinal‘s College. Henry VIII, the monarch who dismissed and ruined him, re-established it as Christ Church later in his reign as an institution rich, spacious and imposing beyond any other. It would help young men of Tudor England and beyond to study history, improve their minds, enlarge imaginations and broaden experience for the benefit of the realm – under the tutelage, of course, of some remarkable dons.                       Generations of students had their intellects and world perspectives shaped by Oxford. It was believed that the study of history – touching the ancient world at one end and modern politics at the other – interlaced with geography, economics, political science, law and modern languages, would demonstrate the reasons for the success or failure of states. The student would be taught – in Sir Isaiah Berlin‘s memorable phrase – to ‘spot the bunk!’          In this book, acclaimed historian Richard Davenport- Hines examines the intimate connections between British politics, statecraft and the Oxford University history course. He explores the temperaments, ideas, imagination, prejudices, intentions and influence of a select and self-regulated group of men who taught modern history at Christ Church: Frederick York Powell, Arthur Hassall, Keith Feiling, J. C. Masterman, Roy Harrod, Patrick Gordon Walker, Hugh Trevor-Roper and Robert Blake; by turns an unruly Victorian radical, a staunch legitimist of the Protestant settlement, a Tory, a Whig, a Keynesian, a socialist, a rationalist who enjoyed mischief and a student of realpolitik.             These dons, with their challenging and sometimes contradictory opinions, explored with their pupils the wielding of power, the art of persuasion and the exercise of civil and political responsibility. Intelligent, strenuous and aware of the treachery and uncontrollability of things in the world, they studied the crimes, follies, misfortunes, incapacity, muddle and disloyalty of humankind in every generation. History in the House offers an unforgettable portrait of these men, their enduring influence and the significance of their arguments to public life today.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57685930475893,"sku":"9780008285760","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":44581188141234,"sku":"9780008285722","price":26.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780008285760_25db51fd-d345-4958-83f9-64889a55c4c6.jpg?v=1792599176"},{"product_id":"9780007516698","title":"Enemies Within","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhat pushed Blunt, Burgess, Cairncross, Maclean and Philby into Soviet hands? With access to recently released papers and other neglected documents, this sharp analysis of the intelligence world examines how and why these men and others betrayed their country and what this cost Britain and its allies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEnemies Within is a new history of the influence of Moscow on Britain told through the stories of those who chose to spy for the Soviet Union. It also challenges entrenched assumptions about abused trust, corruption and Establishment cover-ups that began with the Cambridge Five and the disappearance of Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean on the night boat to Saint-Malo in 1951. In a book that is as intellectually thrilling as it is entertaining and illuminating, Richard Davenport-Hines traces the bonds between individuals, networks and organisations over generations to offer a study of character, both individual and institutional.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt its core lie the operative traits of boarding schools, the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the Intelligence Division, Foreign Office, MI5, MI6 and Moscow Centre. Davenport-Hines tells many stories of espionage, counter-espionage and treachery. With its vast scope, ambition and scholarship, Enemies Within charts how the undermining of authority, the rejection of expertise and the suspicion of educational advantages began, and how these have transformed the social and political temper of modern Britain.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56220402516341,"sku":"9780007516698","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780007516698_29c3cfd8-69af-45b5-9589-e619bbb4d6cf.jpg?v=1785658971"},{"product_id":"9780007435852","title":"An English Affair","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWINNER OF THE POLITICAL BOOK AWARDS POLITICAL HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR 2014.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e          \u003cp\u003ePublished to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the Profumo scandal, An English Affair is a sharp-focused snapshot of a nation on the brink of social revolution.\u003c\/p\u003e          \u003cp\u003eBritain in 1963 – Harold Macmillan was the Prime Minister of a Conservative government, dedicated to tradition, hierarchy and, above all, old-fashioned morality. But a breakdown of social boundaries saw nightclub hostesses mixing with aristocrats, and middle-class professionals dabbling in criminality. Meanwhile, Cold War paranoia gripped the public imagination.\u003c\/p\u003e          \u003cp\u003eThe Profumo Affair was a perfect storm, and when it broke it rocked the Establishment. In ‘An English Affair’, the author of the critically-acclaimed ‘Titainic Lives’ Richard Davenport-Hines brings Swinging London to life. The cast of players includes the familiar – louche doctor Stephen Ward, good-time girls Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davies, and Secretary for War John Profumo himself. But we also encounter the tabloid hacks, property developers and hangers-on whose roles have, until now, never been fully revealed.\u003c\/p\u003e          \u003cp\u003eSex, drugs, class, race, chequebook journalism and the criminal underworld – the Profumo Affair had it all. This is the story of how Sixties England cast off respectability and fell in love with scandal.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56220464775541,"sku":"9780007435852","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780007435852_9f91831a-0ce6-4e6d-952a-133133085f11.jpg?v=1785658873"},{"product_id":"9780141988719","title":"Edward VII (Penguin Monarchs)","description":"Like his mother Queen Victoria, Edward VII defined an era. Both reflected the personalities of their central figures: hers grand, imperial and pretty stiff; his no less grand, but much more relaxed and enjoyable. This book conveys Edward's distinct personality and significant influences. To the despair of his parents, he rebelled as a young man, conducting many affairs and living a life of pleasure. But as king he made a distinct contribution to European diplomacy and - which is little known - to London, laying out the Mall and Admiralty Arch. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRichard Davenport-Hines's book is as enjoyable as its subject and the age he made.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56225023459701,"sku":"9780141988719","price":4.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780141988719_065ee806-77fb-4fb0-9425-70e55ad7cd3d.jpg?v=1786011209"},{"product_id":"titanic-lives-pb","title":"Titanic Lives","description":"\u003cp\u003eMarking the centenary of the Titanic disaster, ‘Titanic Lives’ is a fresh investigation of the lives of the passengers and crew on board the most famous ship in history. On the night of 14 April 1912, midway through her maiden voyage, the seemingly unsinkable Titanic hit an iceberg, sustaining a 300-feet gash as six compartments were wrenched open to the Atlantic Ocean. In little over two hours, the palatial liner nose-dived to the bottom of the sea. More than 1,500 people perished in the freezing waters. But who were they?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this impeccably researched and utterly riveting social history, Richard Davenport-Hines brings to life the stories of the men who built and owned the Titanic, the crew who serviced her and the passengers of all classes who sailed on her. We are introduced to this fascinating cast of characters and follow their lives on board the ship through to the supreme dramatic climax of the disaster. Universally critically acclaimed, ‘Titanic Lives’ is the must-read Titanic book of the centenary year.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466573816181,"sku":"9780007321667","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780007321667.jpg?v=1785654631"},{"product_id":"the-oxford-spies","title":"The Oxford Spies","description":null,"brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57680166486389,"sku":"9780241692653","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-richard-davenport-hines.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}