Harold Macmillan was a man of paradox and ambiguity: he married the daughter of the Duke of Devonshire, while speaking of being a crofter’s grandson; he was an intellectual who encouraged the growth of materialism; he was nervous and highly strung, while, publicly, conveying an image of unflappability; he had both the demeanour of an Edwardian aristocrat and a genuine concern for the common man; he did not always grasp the pace of change in post-war Britain, yet was visionary in world affairs; he was a traditionalist who encouraged the renunciation of Empire. Here is a portrait of the most subtle, complex and fascinating occupant of No 10 in the post-war years.
Andrew Baker taught in Grammar Schools for over 40 years and is the author of a best-selling book on Contemporary British Politics. Drawing on his experience of over 22 years as Headmaster of Westcliff High School for Boys, he recently published a further volume on Education and the Pursuit of Values: A Headmaster’s Reflections. He now works as a freelance lecturer and consultant.
Andrew has a particular interest in social, cultural and political change since the First World War. He gives presentations to a range of audiences and is a regular cruise ship lecturer giving audiences insights into the times through which they have lived with a sharp eye for detail and anecdote. His incisive character portraits of many very different men and women at home and abroad whose lives have shaped today’s world, are vivid and compelling.
There are opportunities here to sit back, reflect, remember, laugh and see our own times more clearly.
