Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
30 used & new from £2.29
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The King of Sunlight: How William Lever Cleaned Up the World
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

The King of Sunlight: How William Lever Cleaned Up the World (Paperback)

by Adam Macqueen (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
RRP: £9.99
Price: £6.49 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £3.50 (35%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Friday, July 17? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
20 new from £3.70 10 used from £2.29
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover 8 used & new from £14.49

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with The Road Home by Rose Tremain

The King of Sunlight: How William Lever Cleaned Up the World + The Road Home
Price For Both: £9.69

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: The King of Sunlight: How William Lever Cleaned Up the World by Adam Macqueen

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • The Road Home by Rose Tremain

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    Eligible for FREE UK delivery on orders over £5 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Road Home

The Road Home

by Rose Tremain
3.9 out of 5 stars (74)  £3.20
The Uncommon Reader

The Uncommon Reader

by Alan Bennett
4.4 out of 5 stars (76)  £3.49
The White Tiger

The White Tiger

by Aravind Adiga
3.7 out of 5 stars (107)  £3.84
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

by Barack Obama
4.5 out of 5 stars (123)  £4.49
Letter to my Father

Letter to my Father

by Franz Kafka
4.5 out of 5 stars (2)  £5.70
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 329 pages
  • Publisher: Corgi Books; New edition edition (2 May 2005)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0552150878
  • ISBN-13: 978-0552150873
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 2.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 25,856 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #14 in  Books > Business, Finance & Law > Careers > Community Services
    #16 in  Books > History > Social & Economic History > Health & Welfare
    #26 in  Books > Business, Finance & Law > Careers > Entrepreneurship

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

The Times, May 15, 2004
Exquisite images … Written with wit and verve, managing to be both inspirational and a cautionary tale. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Russell Davies, Sunday Telegraph, May 2, 2004
A one man soap opera … a crazy story, crazily told. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Product Description

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below
(1)
(1)
(1)
See all 8 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The King of Sunlight: How William Lever Cleaned Up the World
95% buy the item featured on this page:
The King of Sunlight: How William Lever Cleaned Up the World 4.0 out of 5 stars (5)
£6.49
The Soap Man: Lewis, Harris and Lord Leverhulme
2% buy
The Soap Man: Lewis, Harris and Lord Leverhulme 4.3 out of 5 stars (3)
£5.49
Letter to my Father
1% buy
Letter to my Father 4.5 out of 5 stars (2)
£5.70
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
1% buy
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance 4.5 out of 5 stars (123)
£4.49
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An highly entertaining biography, 28 Jun 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: King of Sunlight, The (Hardcover)
As a great-granddaughter of Mary Lever Tillotson, sister to William Hesketh Lever, aka "The King of Sunlight", I was delighted to be given this book as a "special birthday" present earlier this month. Before opening the cover, I had no idea how highly entertaining and fascinating it would be. Leaving aside the family connection, Adam Macqueen's descriptions of a clever, down-to-earth and visionary entrepreneur had me in fits of laughter, although in contrast, a chapter relating what is thought to have happened to William's younger brother, James, was sensitively handled and in many ways a contrast to much of the rest of the book. Some of William Lever's late 19th and early 20th Century ideas of the "duties" of an employer would be regarded as nothing less than expected in the 21st Century, and this book gives a witty and perceptive insight into his life and times. In my childhood, I felt that over the years, my family had been blessed with somewhat more than its fair share of what some might label "eccentrics". Thanks to Adam Macqueen's book, I feel others now have an insight into one of these, and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys being entertained whilst reading a biography - and challenge anyone who thinks biographies are boring old tomes to say this of "The King of Sunlight" once they have read it. I found it a hard book to put down.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars After sharp showers, the sun shines brightest, 16 Nov 2008
By Ian David Curry "Legal Eagle" (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
The premise of this book is the story of a soap company that would eventually become Unilever and its founder and directing mind, William Lever. It doesn't sound promising, but, like many obscure corners of history that have been illuminated by fascinating, lucid and readable biographies and histories, this is the window to a wide and startling vista.

I came to read the book after hearing excerpts of it on BBC Radio 4's `A Good Read'. It sounded interesting in the round, but what really made me pay attention was the detail on Rivington. Rivington is a village in the moorland above Chorley and Bolton. It has medieval tithe barns, a quaint village centre, strange follies and the most amazing terraced gardens, ornamental lake and Roman ruins.

As a child I was taken there for Sunday walks, climbing the stone steps to a strange grotto that, in my mind, was permanently winter. The waterfall would be petrified, frozen solid in mid-tumble, and the landscape glistening as a pallid sunlight reflected from a thick and universal spread of frost.

In short it seemed a magical and strange place. So I was much obliged to the author of this book for providing some illumination as to how Japanese gardens and intricate terraces had been transplanted to this windswept and remote corner of Lancashire.

And once I had started reading the book it was clear that not only would my interest in a local beauty spot be satiatied, but that this was a wide-ranging and interesting book which, although having William Lever and his soap business as the central focus of attention, also covered the British Empire, the Liberal Party, old age pensions, garden cities and much more.

William Lever is presented sympathetically - it is obvious that Mr MacQueen is struck by the common affliction of biographers in his growing affection for his subject. But this is backed by the legacy of the man, which, whilst not completely apart from the times, was markedly different to the Victorian factory owners in this dark corner of Britain.

Mr MacQueen makes it clear that this book should not be read as a comprehensive biography of the man. William Lever's life is detailed, but is also used as a launch pad to some fascinating discourses on everything from the brutal history of Belgian Congo to the more obscure Parliamentary rules.

This book was a joy to read, and should whet the appetite to at least visit Port Sunlight, Rivington and the Isle of Harris and Lewis. So far I've got two out of the three, and the very brief but alluring introduction of the Western Isles has meant that I will try and head to the furthest reaches of Scotland sometime soon.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars ALL BUBBLES AND FROTH, 19 Dec 2005
By A Customer
Forgive me for raining on the parade of stars that have been showered on this particular book. It is undoubtedly slick, stylish and sometimes very amusing. However, it is also superficial in its approach. People should read instead Roger Hutchinson's 'The Soap Man'. While this work clearly concentrates on Leverhulme's investments in Lewis and Harris, it also gives a better sense of what the Soap King was like as a man.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars A Lightweight Biography.
The King of Sunlight: How William Lever Cleaned Up the World

This is by no means an academic biography, and is an easy, somewhat lightweight read. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Clare Topping

4.0 out of 5 stars A True Lancashire Man
As a frequent visitor to Rivington ,this book regails the life of local philantronphist and fills in the gaps of the life of the enigma that was William Lever. Read more
Published 23 months ago by L. Barrow

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

Fun for Everyone

Christmas Gifts
Achieve over 15,000 RPM with our great range of Powerballs.

›Shop the Powerball store

  

Make A Wish

Get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk Wish List Make sure you always get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk Wish List.

›More info on Wish Lists

  

We've Got Converse

Converse
Stock up on your favourite styles with great deals on Converse shoes.

›Shop Converse

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates