- Hardcover: 252 pages
- Publisher: Bank House Books (15 Oct 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1904408095
- ISBN-13: 978-1904408093
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.8 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 810,635 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
Noel Pemberton Billing was a far-sighted polymath of events on the world scene during the first half of the last century. During his sixty-seven years of very full life, he was a prolific inventor and designer of aircraft, a pioneer aviator, playwright, author, actor, gun-runner, spy and much more besides. A forceful and colourful Independent Member of Parliament during World War I, he likened the administration of the country to a 'sorry and sordid play, in which politicians are the actors, the pressmen are the dramatists, vested interests pack the house and the public pay the price'. The victim of several 'dirty tricks' during his parliamentary career, he was forced to conduct his own defence in a politically instigated criminal libel case at the Old Bailey and, against all odds and to much popular acclaim, was acquitted. In this first full biography of Pemberton Billing, Barbara Stoney's thorough research has produced a fascinating and highly readable account of the life of this complex and extraordinary man.
About the Author
Before marriage to her architect husband, Barbara Stoney worked as a nurse, journalist and international conference reporter. She also spent some time in Geneva with the World Health Organisation.
While her children were growing up, she wrote stories and features for several publications, including a column for a weekly newspaper. She then embarked on the first of her much-acclaimed biographies, that of Enid Blyton, and for twenty-one years edited a local history journal, was a popular speaker for a national lecture agency, acted as consultant for and appeared on a number of television and radio documentary programmes. She claims that exploring the many facets of Pemberton Billing’s life has been the most challenging task she has so far attempted.
Barbara relaxes from her busy working life by tending her garden, listening to classical music, travelling and enjoying the company of friends and her extended family.
While her children were growing up, she wrote stories and features for several publications, including a column for a weekly newspaper. She then embarked on the first of her much-acclaimed biographies, that of Enid Blyton, and for twenty-one years edited a local history journal, was a popular speaker for a national lecture agency, acted as consultant for and appeared on a number of television and radio documentary programmes. She claims that exploring the many facets of Pemberton Billing’s life has been the most challenging task she has so far attempted.
Barbara relaxes from her busy working life by tending her garden, listening to classical music, travelling and enjoying the company of friends and her extended family.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining biography of a charming old fascist,
By
This review is from: Twentieth Century Maverick - The Life of Noel Pemberton Billing (Hardcover)
This book reads well and captures the surreal and frenzied activity of Noel Pemberton-Billing's life, but it would be a bit dangerous to use it as one's only source of information about him. The founder and editor of "The Imperialist" and "Vigilante" newspapers was not a wholly harmless maverick or merely a patriotic English eccentric, and his Parliamentary colleagues tended to keep him at arms' length because he was not, fundamentally, a democratic politician. The account of the Maud Allan libel case is really rather slanted in Billing's favour - it is true that the case was "politically motivated", but the political motivation was Billing's own! He brought the case in order to smear Margot Asquith under privilege in court, in the hope of bringing down the Lloyd George government, acting in concert with a group of senior army officers. Although the British government also behaved scandalously to Billing, using provocateurs and sending their own Mata Hari figure after him, he was hardly blameless. Although Pemberton-Billing himself pulled back from the brink of racist insanity, his Vigilante Society contained a number of figures who formed the bedrock of British Fascism in the 1930s. So in many ways a gifted maverick, and well deserving of a well-written biography like this one, but one should resist (as so many Edwardian ladies didn't) being seduced. "Oscar Wilde's Last Stand", by Philip Hoare (an account of the Maud Allan trial from an anti-Billing perspective) is a useful companion to this book.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Should be a film.,
By
This review is from: Twentieth Century Maverick - The Life of Noel Pemberton Billing (Hardcover)
A very sympathetic biography of a man with enormous talent and energy, who sounds like a bit of a rogue. Barbara Stoney has brought to life a man, who the parliment of old would have wanted air-brushed from history. It makes you wish you had a bit of his daring. Soldier, spy, inventer, MP, husband ,Father, sea-farer, gun runner and pilot. A true English eccentric. He may have shortened the world wars had he been taken seriously. From his inventions he has spawned aircraft, houses, gramaphones and the pocket cameras of today; and you've never heard of him! The British film industy should read this before Hollywood does.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating insight,
By
This review is from: Twentieth Century Maverick - The Life of Noel Pemberton Billing (Hardcover)
A fascinating insight into the personal and professional life of a flawed genius. I bought this book because I was interested to find out more about the inventor of the Compass camera. In fact, the camera occupies only a all part of the book because it was oy one of hundreds of inventions which PB brought to market with widely varying degrees of success. Boats, planes, cars, gramophone records and cameras were featured throughout a hectic driven life which also included leaving home as a boy and disappearing on a boat to South Africa for several years, founding Supermarine, being an MP at least twice, arguing with Churchill, breaking long distance driving records, inviting the Compass camera and seeing his young children for just 1 hour each day.
If you are interested in British eccentrics read this book.
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