Customer Reviews

Aspects of Aristocracy (Penguin History)

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Well-written, this book is a supplement to the author's Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy, a full treatment of the landed aristrocracy, and gentry, in the years of decline, from 1870. This book consists of essays on particular aspects of the subject. I thought it was fair in tone, the comments about the Churchills in particular are in line with evaluations in several biographies of Winston that I have read.

This is a mean-spirited and vindictive book that makes no pretense about actually revelling in the mounting misfortunes of the British upper classes. It offers very little historical research, but a great deal of waxing eloquent on the uselessness of the aristocracy.

He gets so into this, that much of what he says is wrong: he describes Winston "Churchill's family and forebearers were hardly those which any politician, eager to establish an unimpeachable public reputaition, would have freely chosen." Um, except that they were all well-respected politicians in their own right, and Winston's father had been considered, for many years, next in line to be Prime Minister (a raging case of syphillus drove him mad and that was the end of that... but his affliction was not public knowledge and wouldn't have hampered his son's career).

He takes great joy in describing the misfortunes of the upper classes, without actually examining the causes: more often than not these declines had to do with the rising cost of living in a huge stone palace (as electricity, plumbing, and heating became necessary), the decline of the sevice industry (as factory work became a better option for the lower classes), the decline of the agricultural industry from which most of these people supported themselves with (as cheaper food could be imported from overseas), and a few significant stock market crashes. Instead, he drops hints that the sudden and disasterous lack of money was purely a personal fault.

He discusses the people who hang on to their country houses but require government aid to support them, completely ignoring the fact that 1) the government won't let the owners tear them down because they're historic and architectural landmarks and 2) the owners literally can't GIVE them away because the National Trust is already glutted with them and can't afford the upkeep on the ones they already have.

Cannadine's thesis is one that deserves taking into consideration: that it's time historians stopped fawning over the upper classes and started to look at them, warts and all. However, by the time this book was published, this was hardly an original notion and it was difficult to find a book that didn't take a critical view of the aristocracy. And it should be taken into consideration that, after a career built on mocking the upper classes, Mr. Cannadine's last TWO books have both been fawning histories talking about how the entire British Empire was built on the bravery, daring, and intelligence of the aristocrats. I guess he decided the tide had turned and it was time to jump on another bandwaggon?

Paints a vivid and broad picture of the British aristocracy which has declined precipitously in fortune, political power and status since about 1870. Mr. Cannandine's chooses not to explain the causes of the decline, however, with any percision. The various political reform acts, the rise of a rootless proletariate, the democratization of education, the agricultural decline starting about 1870, the decimation of young aristocrats in the trenches of World War One, the loss of confidence in the right to rule-these are either only briefly mentioned by Mr. Cannandine or not mentioned by Mr. Cannandine. He chose not to over-analyze. My chief criticism of the book is that in conclusion, Mr. Cannandine seems overjoyed with the declining relevance of his subject. That is a pity. The British aristocracy has done well by Britain. It is sad that Mr. Cannandine has a soulmate in Tony Blair, who is set to destroy the House of Lords this year.

This book claims to be about the decline of the aristocracy, but is really a mean-spirited look at the misfortunes of several aristocratic dynasties and persons. The author gleefully rips apart Winston Churchill, Lord Curzon, Vita Sackville-West and others, while adding no new insight into their characters. Lord Curzon was obsessed with ceremony? Now there's a startling relevation.

There is very little substance to this book and no conclusions are reached, or even suggested.