Peregrine Worsthorne
Best books: Peter Vansittart's autobiographical memoir, Paths from a White Horse, which is a beautiful description of the author's lifelong love affair with words. Ben Pim- lott's biography of Hugh Dalton, which must be as moving, poignant and absorbing an account of a not particularly successful or attractive politician's life as has ever been written.
The republication by Virago of Mrs Humphrey Ward's 19th-century political novel, Marcella . While being as good at personalities as Trollope, Mrs Ward is much better than him at describing politic- al argument. Her treatment of conservat- ism — for which she had little sympathy — is quite marvellous and streets ahead of any political commentary being written today.
The Randlords by Geoffrey Wheatcroft is also worth mentioning, if only as the sole example known to me of a gossip column- ist producing a genuine work of scho- larship.
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