Bernays, Robert

Diaries and Letters of Robert Bernays, 1932-1939. An Insider's Account of the House of Commons

1996 0-7734-8864-2
Bernays was elected to the House of Commons in 1931, at the age of 29. This archive material consists of weekly letters and diary entries. These provide unvarnished portraits of the 'big guns' of the government and social milieu: Ramsey MacDonald (whom he called a 'nincompoop'), Baldwin, Anthony Eden, Hoare, Churchill, Chamberlain. He covers the Abdication crisis in full, and strain of the coming war and Chamberlain's policy of appeasing Hitler. Just about every leading personality and issue of the day is discussed. The personal side is also included. His social life included frequent visits at Lady Astor's Cliveden, and he knew Bernard Shaw, Sidney and Beatrice Webb, Noel Coward, Diana Cooper, Lord Halifax, etc. He was a frequent guest of the society hostesses Sybil Colefax, Lady Londonderry, and Lady Cunard. There is an 'I am a camera' feel to the material. His abilities as witness and observer give the material its edge and make it an invaluable source of information for scholars and political historians.