Saturday 1 November 2014

A broken man

A good day's conference on Liberal History concerning WW1 held at Kings College London. I find it amazingly that the male political historians don't seem to understand that a politician's emotions are as important as their rhetoric. Surely it is important to know that Asquith was threatening suicide throughout many months of the war? If you are thinking of ending your life ..can you make good decisions? 
Is it not important in our understanding of his handling of the war to know that his thoughts were often turning to illicit sex? 
The historians consider that the fact Asquith looked "tired" during the early years of the war is significant but the fact that he was "a broken man", when Venetia sent her fateful letter telling him she was leaving to marry Montagu is irrelevant, in relation to Asquith's decision to form the coalition in May 1915! Strange people... 

By the way there was a female professor of social history at the conference who agreed with me about the importance of emotions in relation to historical events ... surely its time female historians took a more active interest in political history .. or  will we always get a one sided view of crucial events? 

1 comment:

  1. Ms. Neate .... just in the process of reading CONSPIRACY OF SECRETS. Thank you very much for writing what I find is a very important and gripping work. And I think "important and gripping" on a multitude of levels. With a long-term interest in genealogy, politics and history -- as well as having personal knowledge of what happens to a family when one of these cunning conmen types comes into its midst -- I am finding CoS perhaps the most personally pertinent work I have come across in quite some time.

    Thank you for going through all the effort to get this completed and published!

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