The Pimlico Companion To Parliament
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The Pimlico Companion To Parliament by Christopher Silvester
George Canning describes his maiden speech in 1974, Benjamin Disraeli the vote that brought down Sir Robert Peel's administration in 1845. William Jerdan witnesses the assassination of a prime minister, Spencer Percival, in 1812, whilst diaries such as Charles Greville, Harold Nicolson and 'Chips' Channon record their time as MPs. The old refreshment parlour, Bellamy's Kitchen, is described by Charles Dickens, and other visitors include Thomas Carlyle, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Virginia Woolf and George Orwell. Here also, are writings by leser-known individuals, containing witty, dramatic or moving reflections on an institution whose wealth of history and tradition ia as absorbing as it is unique.
'Christopher Silvester has produced a quite scintillating anthology.The book is a true labour of love and no praise can be too high for its editor', David Robson, Sunday Telegraph .'In the immortal words of Chris Patten, I have been "gob-smacked" by the quality of this book...I can't think of a better book to give to anyone remotely interested in Parliament', David Mellor, Evening Standard .'Assembled with style, scholarship and discrimination...a splendid and highly readable anthology', Roy Jenkins, The Times .'The publishing industry had up to now inexplicably failed to produce a book like Christopher Silvester's...The unexpected lurks in his erudite preface and 600 resonant pages. He mingles the grave with the gay', David McKie, Guardian .'Wonderful...Nobody who is, was, or ever hopes to be an MP should miss this anthology. Nobody who wants to understand the character of our Commons rather than its structure, nobody who wants to know what it feels like to be an MP, and nobody who has ever been touched by the curious alchemy of the place, can fail to be drawn by Silvester's collection', Matthew Parris, Sunday Times
Christopher Silvester was born in 1959 and educated at Lancing College, Sussex, and Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he read history. From 1983 to 1994 he worked for Private Eye, initially writing the 'New Boys' column, a series of caustic profiles of newly elected MPs, and later specialising in political, legal and media affairs. He has written for several newspapers and magazines, including the Evening Standard, the Guardian, the Observer, the Independent on Sunday, Esquire, GQ and Vanity Fair. He is also the editor of the Penguin Book of Interviews- An Anthology from 1859 to the Present Day
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780712666435 |
| ISBN 10 | 0712666435 |
| Title | The Pimlico Companion To Parliament |
| Author | Christopher Silvester |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Vintage Publishing |
| Year published | 1997-10-02 |
| Number of pages | 656 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |