Letters from Oxford by Richard Davenport-Hines
When they met in 1947 Trevor-Roper, a young historian at Christ Church, Oxford, was 33. Berenson, the world-famous art critic, was 82, frail but still intensely curious about the world. Trevor Roper promised to write to him and his letters continued until Berenson's death in in 1959. Elegantly constructed, beautifully and precisely written, they are shot through with high-octane malice, sharp judgements and blistering comments, and many wonderfully funny episodes. Trevor-Roper was an intellectual heavyweight, but the overall tone here is one of amusement at the human comedy', the vanity, snobbery and human weakness he sees all around him. At the same time he loves intrigue and controversy. Subjects range widely: several brilliant set-pieces on Oxford college elections, books, journalism, publishing, politics (postwar Europe, ex-Nazis and collaborators, the Cold War, Suez, etc), history and history-writing, personal life (including marriage to Earl Haig's daughter Alexandra after her messy divorce), travel, gossip, and so on. He has a memorable journey on a pilgrims' bus in Persia, goes behind the Iron Curtain to meet Communist dignitaries and speeds in his glamorous grey Bentley to visit duchesses in the Scottish borders. Figures in the letters include Evelyn Waugh, Isaiah Berlin, A.L. Rowse, Anthony Eden, Gerald Brenan, A.J.P.Taylor, Arnold Toynbee, Dimitri Shostakovitch, C.S. Lewis and Harold Macmillan.
'wonderfully wise and witty.. in Trevor-Roper, as these letters drenched in irony attest, history had discovered a profound analyst who was also a consummate stylist' -- Christopher Silvester THE SUNDAY TIMES 'Richard Davenport-Hines's introduction is so crisp and perceptive.' -- Ferdinand Mount THE SPECTATOR 'Trevor-Roper proves a wonderful letter-writer, filling his pages with outrageously funny accounts of Oxford goings-on and malicious London gossip.' -- Derwent May THE TIMES '... the book would be worth buying for it [Roper's account of his campaign to get Macmillan elected Chancellor of Oxford University]. But other reasons for buying this book will be found on almost every page; not least among them is the skill of the editor, Richard Davenport-Hines, whose deft annotations somehow contrive to be both economical and omniscient.' -- Noel Malcolm THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, 'These letters offer sheer, unadulterated pleasure.' -- Mark Bostridge THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY 'Skilfully edited by Richard Davenport-Hines, this volume is a consolation at any season, and, it must be hoped, is the forerunner of many more to come.' -- L G Mitchell THE TLS 'The letters focus best on teh 'guerilla-warfare of the cloister,' the elections to the Wardenship of All Souls, to the Regius Professorship of Poetry.' -- John Saumarez Smith COUNTRY LIFE 'contain masterpieces of wit and irony... Davenport-Hines has added some masterly notes and an excellent introduction' -- THE FINANCIAL TIMES Robin Lane-Fox 'this very entertaining volume...superbly edited by Richard Davenport-Hines.' -- Adam Sisman LITERARY REVIEW
Hugh Trevor-Roper, one of the most famous historians of his generation, was born in 1914. He worked in the Secret Intelligence Service 1939-45. In 1945 he was sent to investigate the evidence for Hitler's death and in 1947 published his most famous book, THE LAST DAYS OF HITLER. He taught history at Christ Church from 1946 until 1957 when Harold Macmillan appointed him Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford. He was Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge, 1980-87. He became Lord Dacre of Glanton in 1979 and died in January 2003.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780297850847 |
| ISBN 10 | 0297850849 |
| Title | Letters from Oxford |
| Author | Richard Davenport-Hines |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Orion Publishing Co |
| Year published | 2006-07-13 |
| Number of pages | 376 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |