The Asquiths by Colin Clifford

 This had been sitting on my bookshelf for years when I finally decided to read it. I thought that it would be much more interesting but I found it fairly dense and heavy-going. It’s probably just me, though! They were certainly a fascinating family but the writing is fairly dry.

Margot, Asquith’s volatile, indiscreet and dominating wife is a major presence in this book. She really didn’t do his political career much good. You have to feel a bit sorry for her though because Asquith would get keen on other women all the time, most famously Venetia Stanley, and she also had difficult relationships with all of her stepchildren. Asquith’s obsession with Venetia is supposed to have affected his leadership during the war but this book seems to dispel that rumour. 

His four children with his first wife Helen appear to have all been interesting characters. There is the brilliant but scandal-ridden Raymond, incredibly brave Oc and Beb, and emotional Violet. The book has far more about them than his children with Margot, Puffin and Elizabeth. There is a lot of detail about Oc and Beb’s experiences in the war. Violet was violently anti the suffragettes, like her father, but still very likeable.

Asquith is often criticised for ruining the war effort, causing Lloyd George to have to take over. This book tells a different story and Lloyd George is shown as an inveterate back-stabber, together with his cabal. Asquith comes across as too nice and gentlemanly to deal with people like that.

I read this book for Rose City Reader TBR 25 in ‘25 Challenge.