Heroes, Mavericks and Bounders

Description

Hugh David, whose previous book The Fitzrovians was critically acclaimed, turned his attention from Bohemian London to the English gentleman. Drawing on real-life characters and fictional creations, David charts the course of British and world history via the playing fields of Eton, the mess hall of Sandhurst, the tailors of Savile Row and the clubs of Pall Mall. Comparing Oswald Mosley to Bulldog Drummond in a chapter entitled ‘The Hero and the Thug’, for example, is an original and entertaining way to examine this social archetype, and David strikes a fine balance between informed reverence and outright criticism of some of the dubious bounders that gallop through his book. The book assumes prior familiarity with some of the gentlemanly tropes and references with which Chap readers will be on more than nodding acquaintance.