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The Pain and the Privilege: The Women in Lloyd George's Life
 
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The Pain and the Privilege: The Women in Lloyd George's Life [Illustrated] (Hardcover)

by Ffion Hague (Author)
3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
RRP: £25.00
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 590 pages
  • Publisher: HarperPress; illustrated edition edition (2 Jun 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0007219490
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007219490
  • Product Dimensions: 23.8 x 15.4 x 5.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 31,848 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #1 in  Books > Biography > Political > Britain > Lloyd George, David
    #5 in  Books > Biography > Political > Countries & Regions > France
    #9 in  Books > Biography > Political > Britain > Prime Ministers

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Product Description

Review

'In the battle of the politician's wives, Ffion comes out well on top.' Guardian 'A riveting narrative examination of the dynamic between a man, his mistress, his wife and his daughter. Played out behind the doors of Downing Street, it throws light on the depth of ambition of one of the 20th century's great political machinators!a fascinating story.' Times 'Well--researched and thoughtfully written!she tells the story ably and entertainingly.' Evening Standard 'Much better than the usual books about politicians wives by a political wife. Rather than producing an embellished list of the miserable women who knew Lloyd George, Hague has given us a biography of Lloyd George himself in which a great deal of thought has gone into the business of what it was like to be him and what it was like to have him.' Daily Telegraph 'This well written and intelligent book...tells an involving, multifarious and often poignant tale. It describes to the tee in the process a particular type of man - egomaniacal, brilliant, sexually unscrupulous and crazily risk-taking - frequently found in politics.' Sam Leith, Spectator


Times

'A riveting narrative examination of the dynamic between a man, his mistress, his wife and his daughter...a fascinating story.'
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars History from a different perspective.., 28 Sep 2008
This is a fat book-but don't be put off. ffion's writing style is fluid and accessible: she keeps the clarity that is so often missing in biographies that cover such a wide timespan and range of characters. The tone is never judgemental and totally even handed in its treatment of (some not always likeable) people. As it takes a rather more personal and domestic view of late 19th/ early 20th century history the book makes a refreshing change from mere histories of the time. However we are never far from world events so one encounters them from the perspective of engaged bystanders rather than from the main players. It also throws the double standards of the contemporary moral and social climate into sharp relief and acts as an interesting mirror to the current political scene. In summary- an enjoyable and informative read.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, 2 Jun 2009
This review is from: The Pain and the Privilege: The Women in Lloyd George's Life (Paperback)
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which took an interesting slant on a great man not just insofar as it looks at him through his women companions but also through the writer's own great sympathy for and native grasp of Welsh nationalism and sentiment.

She is sympathetic to, but not uncritical of, all 3 main protagonists and I found her work on Lloyd George's youth - particularly the sectarian nature of the various "chapels" fascinating. It is the outcome of an impressive piece of research yet manages to remain readable and accessible.

Question left hanging - why in the present age do we so heavily condemn private sexual "shenanigans" as in some way damning the public actions of the man (it is usually a man!)when Lloyd George is a paradigm of a man with a dubious - if the masses had known about it at the time - private life whose ability to lead & inspire cannot be in doubt. Perhaps we deny ourselves great leaders by expecting too high a standard of moral integrity in their private lives.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The Pain and the Privilege, 21 Aug 2009
A serialisation of this book on Radio 4 caught my attention. A storyline intriguing enough to succeed as a novel was made all the more interesting through being based on real events - another case of truth being stranger than fiction. How could Lloyd George maintain the active political and moral support of his wife and his mistress when they were both fully aware of the situation even if choosing to delude themselves up to a point? Ffion Hague interprets in a compelling style the complex motivations and emotions involved. The way in which these two women played complementary roles to meet Lloyd George's needs made me wonder how consciously he chose these two particular people for longterm relationships in an apparent sea of casual promiscuity.

The interplay of the key characters was set in the context of major developments such as the decline of the Liberal Party, the weakening of the power of the Anglican Establishment over Wales, the horror of the First World War and the profound social changes following from it. It was fascinating to realise or to speculate on just how much the wheel keeps turning - insider share dealing, "cash for honours", the distorting power of the press - when it chose to reveal scandals- reminded me strongly of recent events. The nature of power, and the charismatic influence which some can exert over others was also explored -there were parallels between the excessses of Lloyd George and Clinton, who tarnished noble political ideals, hard work and real steps to make people's lives better with sordid events in their private lives.

I never had any illusions about Lloyd George's morality, so did not downgrade the book out of disgust over his self-centred lechery. Although Ffion Hague may have been a little too charitable about his motives e.g. glossing over what some would regard as egotistical conflicts with Asquith which served to destroy the Liberals faster (although the rise of the Labour Party would probably have done it anyway) and downplaying his evident nepotism and cronyism (again, everyone else was probably at it as well), she succeeds in painting all the characters in a sympathetic light. They seemed like real people, with strengths and flaws.

There was irony in spades e.g. in Lloyd George's jealousy of his mistress Frances Stephenson's own affair with Tweed, in the way she tried to deceive him as he deceived his own wife, in the fact that her child (who may have been Lloyd George's or Tweed's ) may not have given her the pleasure she craved, since the deception in which she ensnared herself made it impossible for her to be entirely straight with the girl, to the detriment of their relationship.

This was a fascinating and thought-provoking book leaving one to ponder at length on the nature of human relationships - not to mention a renewed interest in learning more about the rich history of the early C20. Countless snippets of information interested me such as Lloyd George's denunciation of the Boer War, because as a put-upon Welshman he could empathise with the independent-minded Boers. As a young man, what would he had said about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?

My only minor criticism is a slight lack of editing. I spotted a mistake in a date, a few non-sequiturs, and sometimes became confused by the author's tendency to dodge back and forth in time. The frequent references to the notes sent by his admiring womenfolk every time they heard Lloyd George speak in the Commons became too repetitious.

But these are small points, and I would rate this as a major achievement and one of the better biographies I have read.
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1.0 out of 5 stars not impressed
I found this book too dry and wordy. I did not finish it. Having said that, one man,s meat is another,s poison. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Christine Claydon

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