Books and Records Wanted

ANYTHING on Philately, Postal History, Oxford History of England. Oxford Anthology of English Literature, Kilverfs Diary. Spectator Box 710.

ANNALS OF THE PARISH by John Galt. Turner. 17 Purley Bury Avenue. Purley, Surrey THE COLLECTED POEMS OF BASIL BUNTING (Published Fulcrum) and COUNTRYMAN'S TOOLS (title possibly inaccurate published Batsford) M Stephens. 17 Eters Road. Ealing, Landon W.13.

KITCHENER by Philip Magnus. Colonel Payton, 37 Belgrave Square. London SW1.

GOOD THINGS IN ENGLAND, subtitled A Practical Cookery Book for Everyday Use. Edited by Florence White. Spectator Box 711.

WAGNER'S RING. Complete Solt; boxed recording wanted. Scratch free Price please to Spectator Box 712 ELLA FITZGERALD, early recordings wanted. Spectator Box 713

CREATIVE ART OF GARDEN DESIGN by Percy Cane, (Country Life, 1967 ?). George Hutchinson seeks copy in good condition 56 Doughty Street, London WC1 SHAKESPEARE'S LEGAL & POLITICAL BACKGROUND by Keeton Davies, 38 Tydraw Road, Cardiff

A BEE IS BORN by Henry During, also Ratcliffe's BEEKEEPERS FOLLY and Stefan Heym's KING DAVID REPORT, Tel 01 -727 2171 or write Spectator Box 707.

CARUSO Any of his 78 r p.m. records wanted Please reply Spectator Box 706.

"DAPHNE" and "INTERMEZZO". Recordings of both these Richard Strauss operas required by impoverished collector. Please state price. Spectator Box 708.

THE STORY OF AXEL MUNTHE by Munthe, MEMORIES AND VAGARIES by Munthe . LIGHT ON A DARK HORSE by Roy Campbell: HOW LIKE AN ANGEL by MacDonell and MINE WERE OF TROUBLE by Kemp. Write John Service, 196 Shaftesbury Avenue. WC2.

THE LIBERAL AWAKENING by Halevy also THE TRIUMPH OF REFORM. Write . T C A. Dawson. The Old Hall, Seething. Norwich. Norfolk.

THE RIDDLE OF THE SANDS by Erskine Childers. WAR MAGIC by Jasper Maskelyne, H. R. Barton, Chateau Langoa. St JulienBeychevelle, 33250 Pauillac, France.

MEDIEVAL MANICHEE, S Runciman, Moors Bookshop, 66 Bedford Place, Southampton M, R. JAMES, GHOST STORIES OF AN ANTIQUARY. S. B. Johns. 12 Forest View. Neath. Glamorgan.

GOOD OLD COUNTRY by Mace. HUNGERFORDIANA ( ?). Hillary, 7 Wilman Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

IN THE LOCKS OF LITERATURE, CHILD OF DIRT and POINSON AND PREJUDICE by Michael Gear Rev. Ewer, Fairways. Justice Hill, Potter's Bar. Herts.

MA CUISINE by A. Escoffier. English translation by Vyvyan Holland (Paul Hamlyn 1965). THE PLEASURES OF THE TABLE by Sir Francis Colchester-Wemyss. THE TENTH MUSE by Sir Harry Luke. VENUS IN THE KITCHEN by Norman Douglas. Spectator Box 705.

LAFITE by Cyril Ray, also his IN A GLASS LIGHTLY and any vols COM PLEAT IMBIBER, Also 2 vols Bartlett's CANADIAN SCENES Spectator Box 703.

INSI—E. MONTE CARLO (paperback, Mayflower) by Antt / Purdy c. 1965. ROYAL HOMES AND GARDENS (Lest 'irewin, published 1771). THE MAN WHO STARTED THE V.AR by Allred Nauiocks (Odhams 1988). I AM EAGLE by Gherrnan Titov (Anthony Gibbs 1970 ?). Tel: 01-353 1641. OLD CALABRIA by Norman Douglas. Spectator Box 704. THE WiSTONBERG LINE by Osbert Sitwell. Box 702 ENTHUSIASM by Ronald (nox. 17 Purley Bury Avenue, Purley, Surrey BURGESS AND MACLEAN, Secker & Warburg (1961 1). by Anthony Purdy and Douglas Sutherland ; THE MAN WHO STARTED THE WAR. by Alfred Naujocks (Odhams c.1960) Tel 01-353 1641.

THE COUNTRY HEART by H. E. Bates. Spectator Box No, 701 AUSTRALIA THE HARD WAY by David Pyle ; DOGGEREL'S DICTIONARY by Richard Mallett. Griffin, 8 Meadowhead Road, Bassett, Southampton

L. Powys' EBONY AND IVORY etc.'. Stuart-Young's MERELY A NEGRESS etc ; Mark Freshfield's STORMY DAWN; Edg. Wallace's SANDERS novels. Contact Noble, 18 Downside Cres., London N.W.3. Tel; 01-794 1215. I CAME OUT OF FRANCE by Cecil'? Mackworth (1941), D. R. Norris, St. Dunstan's College, S.E.6.

BURKE'S LANDED GENTRY. 1952 or earlier. Secker, Net. Bucks.

ROBERT BURNS, a biography. Millar, 58 Crafts End, Chilton, Didcot. Oxon 0)(11 OSB.

MERVYN PEAKE, Edward Upward, Miller, 3 North Hill Road, Leeds 6.

room. The mere mention of work brought tears to his eyes. The theory was that if they could bring on the gout and cure it, the socalled 'gout in his head would also go. And so the Elder Pitt spent the last eighteen months of office. Fortunately his wife had a better grasp of politics than of medicine. Indeed, without her political background and ambition, he would have been neither so successful nor so ill.

Her son, when he became Prime Minister at twenty-four, did not have gout. Sir Robert Peel did, but he wasn't mad and, in any case, Kirsty McLeod describes his wife as too unintelligent to be interested in politics. Palmerston had gout: so did Disraeli. The disease ought to be listed in the index of this book since it is one of the two major problems to confront the wives of nineteenth century Prime Ministers—the other being Queen Victoria. Of the eight women described in this book, the wives of Chatham. Peel. Palmerston, Russell, Disraeli, Gladstone. Asquith and Lloyd George. five belong to the Victorian era and played a significant part in the relationship between the sovereign and her chief minister.

Lord Palmerston, known by the Queen as 'the immoral one', was helped politically by the gout and the wife he acquired late in life. Gout mellowed him, thus making him almost acceptable to Victoria, and he married the sister of Lord Melbourne, her favourite Prime Minister. Lord John Russell's wife, on the other hand, had a feud with Victoria and refused to go to Balmoral. He went rapidly out of favour.

The title of the book, however, is misleading. Mrs Disraeli, twelve years older than her husband, died after her husband's first ten-month spell as Prime Minister and few of her predecessors spent any time in Downing Street. Most lived in the country. Lady Chatham, when not actually running the show, was kept informed by messengers on horseback. Lady Peel lived in Surrey, Dorset. Kent. the Isle of Wight, but never in Downing Street. The Palmerstons gave lavish parties at their house in Piccadilly. Mrs Gladstone deliberately avoided the formality of Downing Street and for a long time lived in Carlton House Terrace.

Only the last two, Mrs Asquith and Mrs Lloyd George, really qualify as wives of Downing Street. Margot Asquith filled No. 10 with her vast family and frequently held garden parties: the Tories made some capital out of the fact that the Asquiths were entertaining artists in Downing Street. Dame Margaret Lloyd George concentrated on Welsh expatriates, all busy knitting scarves and socks and making clothes for the Comforts Fund for Welsh Troops. 'It looked as if a small suburban family were picnicking in Downing Street,' said a visitor at the time.

None of it resembles Mrs Wilson's diary. In fact these women-are so various that it is impossible to draw any general conclusions about the lot of being a Prime Minister's wife. But the book may be of some help to Mr Denis Thatcher.