The Conscience Of The Rich (Strangers and Brothers) [Paperback]

Charles Percy Snow (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 11, 2008 | Series: Strangers and Brothers

Seventh in the Strangers and Brothers series, this is a novel of conflict exploring the world of the great Anglo-Jewish banking families between the two World Wars. Charles March is heir to one of these families and is beginning to make a name for himself at the Bar. When he wishes to change his way of life and do something useful he is forced into a quarrel with his father, his family and his religion.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

C.P. Snow was born in Leicester, on 15 October 1905. He was educated from age 11 at Alderman Newton's School for boys where he excelled in most subjects, enjoying a reputation for an astounding memory. In 1923 he gained an external scholarship in science at London University, whilst working as a laboratory assistant at Newton's to gain the necessary practical experience, because Leicester University, as it was to become, had no chemistry or physics departments at that time. Having achieved a first class degree, followed by a Master of Science he won a studentship in 1928 which he used to research at the famous Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge. Snow went on to become a Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge, in 1930 where he also served as a tutor, but his position became increasingly titular as he branched into other areas of activity. In 1934, he began to publish scientific articles in Nature, and then The Spectator before becoming editor of the journal Discovery in 1937. However, he was also writing fiction during this period and in 1940 'Strangers and Brothers' was published. This was the first of eleven novels in the series and was later renamed 'George Passant' when 'Strangers and Brothers' was used to denote the series itself. Discovery became a casualty of the war, closing in 1940. However, by this time Snow was already involved with the Royal Society, who had organised a group to specifically use British scientific talent operating under the auspices of the Ministry of Labour. He served as the Ministry's technical director from 1940 to 1944. After the war, Snow became a civil service commissioner responsible for recruiting scientists to work for the government. He also returned to writing, continuing the Strangers and Brothers series of novels. 'The Light and the Dark' was published in 1947, followed by 'Time of Hope' in 1949, and perhaps the most famous and popular of them all, 'The Masters', in 1951. He planned to finish the cycle within five years, but the final novel 'Last Things' wasn't published until 1970. He married the novelist Pamela Hansford Johnson in 1950 and they had one son, Philip, in 1952. Snow was knighted in 1957 and became a life peer in 1964, taking the title Baron Snow of the City Leicester. He also joined Harold Wilson's first government as Parliamentary Secretary to the new Minister of Technology. When the department ceased to exist in 1966 he became a vociferous back-bencher in the House of Lords. After finishing th

Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: House of Stratus (October 11, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1842324268
• ISBN-13: 978-1842324264
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,094,394 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fair and sympathetic outside observer, September 1, 2007

By 

Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Conscience of the Rich (Mass Market Paperback)

In this novel Snow's alter ego, Lewis Elliot tells of his friendship with a wealthy Anglo- Jewish family the Marches. The son Charles who studied Law with Elliot brings him home to meet the father and sister. And the tale begins in which the history of the Marches is told, and we have a glimpse of two- hundred years in the life of aristocratic Anglo -Jewry. The center of the book is father March's attempt to control and direct the lives of his children, Charles and Katherine. But neither follows their father's wishes. Charles rejects the Law as a career and becomes a physician. Here he has the satisfaction of earning his own living and not relying on the family wealth. The sister Katherine marries outside the Jewish religion which is a distressing act for her father, in part because it reflects so poorly in the eyes of the extended family.
Elliot is a sympathetic outsider who portrays the Marches and their story with a kind of calm and disapassionate objective perception.
It is interesting that there is no real understanding presented of the Jewish religion which the Marches ostensibly practice. In fact religion seems to be not really 'spiritual' in any sense, and certainly not a passion. It is rather a social tradition. There is that is no depth in the Marches' religious observance and so Snow is not to be faulted for not portraying it in depth. What seems to remain of the religion is a kind of real moral value, a conscience and caring which makes them decent people. This 'conscience' too plays a part in one of the main elements in the story- line the radical left politics of Charles' attractive wife, and the effect that has on the whole family.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars no title, February 7, 2006

By 

C. L Wilson (Elmhurst, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Conscience of the Rich (Hardcover)

"The phrase that the old Japanese used to describe the love of parents for their children was a darkness of the heart." The last parts of this book made me want to weep. A very sad novel. But magnificent nonetheless, like "The Dollmaker" by Harriet Arnow. Every bit as compelling as "Time of Hope", the first in chronological order in the "Strangers and Brothers" series. But it seems to me there might be one flaw; if Ann loved Charles as Eliot thought she did, how could she let herself be the cause of this chasm between Charles and his father? She left the choice to her husband, but why didn't she simply act on her own? Eliot seems to imply that her nature was to subjugate herself to Charles, but she had the power to save her husband so much pain. The implication being, that she loved the "Note" more than Charles, and Lewis is wrong.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fastidious, April 8, 2007

By 

Mary E. Sibley (Carneys Point, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Conscience Of The Rich (Strangers and Brothers) (Paperback)

The primary characters of the story are Charles, upright, principled, gifted and his father, Leonard March, a proud and fastidious patriarch. Mr. March's fussiness verges on the neurotic.

At the bar exam Lewis Eliot, the narrator, sees Charles March. Lewis confesses to Charles that he is nearly out of funds. The exam results are of great importance to Lewis. It is 1927 and both men are twenty-two. In chambers Lewis is underworked and overanxious. Herbert Getliffe, Lewis's mentor, has a compendious but fuzzy memory. Visiting the March family, Lewis learns that Mr. March has near total recall. The Marches had never known a poor young man.

Lewis does not understand for a long time how eminent the family is. Charles argues his first case with drive and clarity. He loses the case but the judge pays a compliment. Francis Getliffe knew Charles at Cambridge. He stays with the family for a week and later becomes the husband of Charles's sister, Katherine. The Marches used to have a bank. Members of the family have joined parliament. Everything in English life has become available to members of the family.

Mr. March becomes very distressed when Charles endeavors to quit the practice of law. His brothers and sisters are scandalized. Charles takes charge of Lewis's career. After being taken to a party by Charles, Lewis receives a brief. Then he gets another case. Mr. March seems to recreate himself in his son. When the family bank was sold, Mr. March retired at age thirty-two. He feels that he had been too shy and anxious. He has come to live enirely in the family.

When Charles decides to become a doctor his father does not understand. Charles has a social conscience, he feels guilt, he desires to be useful. He seeks what is good in order to be good. At the time of the celebration of Mr. March's seventieth birthday it is 1936. After Charles and his wife fail to block a political newspaper from making unfounded accusations against government officals and his own uncle is sacked as a consequence, his father cuts off contact. Mr. March continues to entertain Lewis Eliot and others.

This is one of the more rewarding volumes of the STRANGER AND BROTHERS series.