Duff Cooper
Encyclopedia
Alfred Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich GCMG
, DSO
, PC (22 February 1890 – 1 January 1954), known as Duff Cooper, was a British Conservative Party
politician, diplomat and author. He wrote six books, including an autobiography, Old Men Forget, and a biography of Talleyrand. He wrote one novel, Operation Heartbreak (1950), which has been republished by Persephone Books
.
and Lady Agnes Duff (sister of Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife
), he was the youngest of four children and enjoyed a typical gentleman's upbringing of country estates, London society, Eton College
and New College, Oxford
. He had royal blood, being a descendant of King William IV
and
his mistress Dorothy Jordan.
, including Patrick Shaw-Stewart
, Raymond Asquith
(son of the Prime Minister), Sir Denis Anson, Edward Horner and most famously Lady Diana Manners. He cultivated a reputation for eloquence and fast living and although he had established a reputation as a poet, he earned an even better reputation for gambling, womanising, and drinking in his studied emulation of the life of Charles James Fox
.
Following Oxford, he entered the Foreign Service and, owing to the national importance of his work at the cipher desk, he was excluded from military service until 1917, when he joined the Grenadier Guards
. He served with distinction as a lieutenant in the campaigns of 1918, winning a DSO
for conspicuous gallantry. Almost all of his closest friends, including Shaw-Stewart, Horner, Asquith and John Manners were killed in the war, drawing him closer to Lady Diana Manners, whom he married in 1919. An extremely popular social figure hailed for her beauty and eccentricities, she was one of several daughters born to the Duke
and Duchess of Rutland
; her biological father, however, was believed to be Harry Cust, known as one of the most handsome men of his day.
The Coopers' marriage was fraught with infidelities, notably Duff's affairs with the Franco-American Singer sewing-machine heiress Daisy Fellowes
, the socialite Gloria Guinness
, the French novelist Louise Leveque de Vilmorin
, the writer Susan Mary Alsop (then an American diplomat's wife, by whom he had an illegitimate son, William Patten Jr.), Boy Capel
's wife Diana, and the Anglo-Irish socialite and fashion model Maxime de La Falaise
, although Lady Diana reportedly did not mind, explaining to their son that 'They were the flowers, but I was the tree'.
ian and Turkish
crises of the early 1920s before winning a seat in Parliament as a Conservative for Oldham
in 1924. He gave one of the most acclaimed maiden speech
es of the century and became known as a stalwart supporter of Stanley Baldwin
, the Prime Minister
, and a friend of Chancellor of the Exchequer
, Winston Churchill
. He became Financial Secretary to the War Office
in January 1928 before losing his seat in the 1929 election
when the Conservative Party
lost power.
Turning to literature, he produced Talleyrand (1932), a short biography that was published by his nephew Rupert Hart-Davis
to critical praise and lasting success. The 1931 by-election
for the constituency of Westminster St George's
saw the Empire Free Trade Crusade
party threatening the Conservative position at a time when satisfaction with Baldwin's leadership was at a low. When the original Conservative candidate stepped down, Duff Cooper agreed to contest the election in what was regarded as a referendum on Baldwin's leadership. He won the seat with a majority of 5,710. thus returning to Parliament and serving until 1945.
Returning to ministerial office as Financial Secretary to the War Office
in 1931, then as Financial Secretary to the Treasury
in 1934, he was elevated to the Cabinet as War Secretary in 1935 and promoted to First Lord of the Admiralty in 1937. He completed a biography of Douglas Haig
during this period. The most public critic of Neville Chamberlain
's appeasement policy inside the Cabinet, he famously resigned in 1938 over the Munich Agreement
with Adolf Hitler
in an act that MP Vyvyan Adams
(who also opposed appeasement) described as "the first step in the road back to national sanity". He later took a prominent role in the famous Norway Debate
of 1940 which led to Chamberlain's downfall.
He subsequently entered the Cabinet as Minister of Information under Winston Churchill
but after a controversial appointment as Resident Cabinet Minister in Singapore in 1941, he did not play a major role in the direction of the war until appointed the British Government's liaison to the Free French in 1943. He subsequently became the British ambassador to France in 1944 and was a great success in Paris. He left office in 1947, was knighted, and devoted himself primarily to literature until his death in 1954 at the age of 63. He produced during this period the classic autobiography Old Men Forget
and was eventually created Viscount Norwich
, of Aldwick
in the County of Sussex
, in 1952 in recognition of his political and literary career. His wife refused to be called Lady Norwich, claiming that it sounded too much like "porridge" and promptly took out a newspaper advertisement declaring that she would retain her previous style of Lady Diana Cooper.
(born in 1929), became well known as a writer and television host and has published a collection of his father's diaries The Duff Cooper Diaries: 1915–1951. His granddaughter Artemis Cooper
has published several books, including A Durable Fire: The Letters of Duff and Diana Cooper, 1913–50. Another granddaughter is screenwriter Allegra Huston
, the only child of Norwich and Enrica Soma Huston, estranged wife of the American film director John Huston
. Duff Cooper's niece Enid Levita (daughter of his sister Stephanie) is the paternal grandmother of the Conservative Party
leader David Cameron
, who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
in 2010. Duff Cooper was the subject of a biography by John Charmley
and a British literary award, the Duff Cooper Prize
was established in his name.
in The Shape of Things to Come
, published in 1934, predicted a Second World War in which Britain would not participate but would vainly try to effect a peaceful compromise. In this vision, Duff Cooper was mentioned as one of several prominent Britons delivering "brilliant pacific speeches" which "echo throughout Europe" but fail to end the war (the other would-be peacemakers, in Wells' vision, included Hore Belisha, Ellen Wilkinson
and Randolph Churchill
).
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
, PC (22 February 1890 – 1 January 1954), known as Duff Cooper, was a British Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician, diplomat and author. He wrote six books, including an autobiography, Old Men Forget, and a biography of Talleyrand. He wrote one novel, Operation Heartbreak (1950), which has been republished by Persephone Books
Persephone Books
Persephone Books is an independent publisher based in Bloomsbury, London. Founded in 1999 by Nicola Beauman, Persephone has a catalogue of 93 "neglected novels, diaries, poetry, short stories, non-fiction, biography and cookery books, mostly by women and mostly dating from the early to...
.
Background and education
The only son of fashionable society doctor Sir Alfred CooperAlfred Cooper
Sir Alfred Cooper was a fashionable English surgeon and clubman of the late 19th century whose clients included Edward, Prince of Wales...
and Lady Agnes Duff (sister of Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife
Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife
Alexander William George Duff, 1st Duke of Fife KG, KT, GCVO, PC, VD , styled Viscount Macduff between 1857 and 1879 and known as The Earl Fife between 1879 and 1889, was a British Peer who married Princess Louise of Wales, the third child and eldest daughter of King Edward VII and Alexandra of...
), he was the youngest of four children and enjoyed a typical gentleman's upbringing of country estates, London society, Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and New College, Oxford
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
. He had royal blood, being a descendant of King William IV
William IV of the United Kingdom
William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...
and
his mistress Dorothy Jordan.
Early life and marriage
At Oxford, his Eton friendship with John Manners won him entry into a famous and fashionable circle of young aristocrats and intellectuals known as The CoterieThe Coterie
The Coterie was a fashionable and famous set of English aristocrats and intellectuals of the 1910s, widely quoted and profiled in magazines and newspapers of the period. It adopted the hostile description as a "corrupt coterie"....
, including Patrick Shaw-Stewart
Patrick Shaw-Stewart
Patrick Houston Shaw-Stewart was a brilliant Eton College and Oxford scholar of the Edwardian era who died on active service as a battalion commander in the Royal Naval Division during the First World War....
, Raymond Asquith
Raymond Asquith
Raymond Asquith was an English barrister and eldest son and heir of British Prime Minister H. H. Asquith by his first wife Helen Kelsall Melland .- Career and honours :...
(son of the Prime Minister), Sir Denis Anson, Edward Horner and most famously Lady Diana Manners. He cultivated a reputation for eloquence and fast living and although he had established a reputation as a poet, he earned an even better reputation for gambling, womanising, and drinking in his studied emulation of the life of Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox PC , styled The Honourable from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned thirty-eight years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and who was particularly noted for being the arch-rival of William Pitt the Younger...
.
Following Oxford, he entered the Foreign Service and, owing to the national importance of his work at the cipher desk, he was excluded from military service until 1917, when he joined the Grenadier Guards
Grenadier Guards
The Grenadier Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It is the most senior regiment of the Guards Division and, as such, is the most senior regiment of infantry. It is not, however, the most senior regiment of the Army, this position being attributed to the Life Guards...
. He served with distinction as a lieutenant in the campaigns of 1918, winning a DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
for conspicuous gallantry. Almost all of his closest friends, including Shaw-Stewart, Horner, Asquith and John Manners were killed in the war, drawing him closer to Lady Diana Manners, whom he married in 1919. An extremely popular social figure hailed for her beauty and eccentricities, she was one of several daughters born to the Duke
Henry Manners, 8th Duke of Rutland
Henry John Brinsley Manners, 8th Duke of Rutland KG TD , known as Henry Manners until 1888 and styled Marquess of Granby between 1888 and 1906, was a British peer and Conservative politician.-Background:...
and Duchess of Rutland
Marion Margaret Violet Lindsay
Violet Lindsay Manners, Duchess of Rutland was a British artist and noblewoman.-Family:She was the second daughter of Charles Hugh Lindsay and Emilia Anne Browne...
; her biological father, however, was believed to be Harry Cust, known as one of the most handsome men of his day.
The Coopers' marriage was fraught with infidelities, notably Duff's affairs with the Franco-American Singer sewing-machine heiress Daisy Fellowes
Daisy Fellowes
The Hon. Daisy Fellowes The Hon. Daisy Fellowes The Hon. Daisy Fellowes (née Marguerite Séverine Philippine Decazes de Glücksberg, (April 29, 1890 – December 13, 1962), was a celebrated 20th-century society figure, acclaimed beauty, minor novelist and poet, Paris Editor of American Harper's Bazaar,...
, the socialite Gloria Guinness
Gloria Guinness
Gloria Guinness , born Gloria Rubio y Alatorre, was a Mexican-born socialite and fashion icon of the 20th century, and a contributing editor to Harper's Bazaar from 1963 until 1971...
, the French novelist Louise Leveque de Vilmorin
Louise Leveque de Vilmorin
Louise Lévêque de Vilmorin was a French novelist, poet and journalist.Born in the family château at Verrières-le-Buisson, Essonne, a suburb southwest of Paris, she was heir to a great French seed company fortune, that of Vilmorin. She was afflicted with a slight limp that became a personal trademark...
, the writer Susan Mary Alsop (then an American diplomat's wife, by whom he had an illegitimate son, William Patten Jr.), Boy Capel
Boy Capel
Captain Arthur Edward "Boy" Capel CBE was an English polo player, possibly best-remembered for being a lover and muse of fashion designer Coco Chanel.-Biography:...
's wife Diana, and the Anglo-Irish socialite and fashion model Maxime de La Falaise
Maxime de la Falaise
Maxime de la Falaise was a 1950s model, and, in the 1960s, an underground movie actress. She is also remembered as a cookery writer and "food maven" and a fashion designer for Chloé and Gérard Pipart...
, although Lady Diana reportedly did not mind, explaining to their son that 'They were the flowers, but I was the tree'.
Political career
Returning to the Foreign Service, he became principal private secretary to two ministers and played a significant role in the EgyptEgypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian and Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
crises of the early 1920s before winning a seat in Parliament as a Conservative for Oldham
Oldham (UK Parliament constituency)
Oldham was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Oldham, England. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
in 1924. He gave one of the most acclaimed maiden speech
Maiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country...
es of the century and became known as a stalwart supporter of Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars...
, the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, and a friend of Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
, Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
. He became Financial Secretary to the War Office
Financial Secretary to the War Office
Financial Secretary to the War Office was an office of the British government, the financial secretary of the War Office department.The post was combined with that of Under-Secretary of State for War from 17 April 1947....
in January 1928 before losing his seat in the 1929 election
United Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
when the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
lost power.
Turning to literature, he produced Talleyrand (1932), a short biography that was published by his nephew Rupert Hart-Davis
Rupert Hart-Davis
Sir Rupert Charles Hart-Davis was an English publisher, editor and man of letters. He founded the publishing company Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd...
to critical praise and lasting success. The 1931 by-election
Westminster St George's by-election, 1931
The Westminster St. George's by-election, 1931 was a parliamentary by-election held on 19 March 1931 for the British House of Commons constituency of Westminster St. George's.- Previous MP :...
for the constituency of Westminster St George's
Westminster St George's (UK Parliament constituency)
Westminster St George's, originally named St George's, Hanover Square, was a parliamentary constituency in Central London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system of election.-History:The...
saw the Empire Free Trade Crusade
Empire Free Trade Crusade
The Empire Free Trade Crusade was a political party in the United Kingdom. It was founded by Lord Beaverbrook in July 1929 to press for the British Empire to become a free trade bloc....
party threatening the Conservative position at a time when satisfaction with Baldwin's leadership was at a low. When the original Conservative candidate stepped down, Duff Cooper agreed to contest the election in what was regarded as a referendum on Baldwin's leadership. He won the seat with a majority of 5,710. thus returning to Parliament and serving until 1945.
Returning to ministerial office as Financial Secretary to the War Office
Financial Secretary to the War Office
Financial Secretary to the War Office was an office of the British government, the financial secretary of the War Office department.The post was combined with that of Under-Secretary of State for War from 17 April 1947....
in 1931, then as Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a junior Ministerial post in the British Treasury. It is the 4th most significant Ministerial role within the Treasury after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and the Paymaster General...
in 1934, he was elevated to the Cabinet as War Secretary in 1935 and promoted to First Lord of the Admiralty in 1937. He completed a biography of Douglas Haig
Douglas Haig
Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig was a British soldier and senior commander during World War I.Douglas Haig may also refer to:* Club Atlético Douglas Haig, a football club from Argentina* Douglas Haig , American actor...
during this period. The most public critic of Neville Chamberlain
Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the...
's appeasement policy inside the Cabinet, he famously resigned in 1938 over the Munich Agreement
Munich Agreement
The Munich Pact was an agreement permitting the Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The Sudetenland were areas along Czech borders, mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe without...
with Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
in an act that MP Vyvyan Adams
Vyvyan Adams
Vyvyan Adams , full name Samuel Vyvyan Trerice Adams, was a British Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Leeds West from 1931 to 1945, when he was defeated by the swing to Labour. He stood unsuccessfully in the Fulham East constituency in 1947 and 1950...
(who also opposed appeasement) described as "the first step in the road back to national sanity". He later took a prominent role in the famous Norway Debate
Norway Debate
The Norway Debate, sometimes called the Narvik Debate, was a famous debate in the British House of Commons that took place in May 1940. It led to the formation of a widely-based National Government led by Winston Churchill which was to govern Britain until the end of World War II in Europe...
of 1940 which led to Chamberlain's downfall.
He subsequently entered the Cabinet as Minister of Information under Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
but after a controversial appointment as Resident Cabinet Minister in Singapore in 1941, he did not play a major role in the direction of the war until appointed the British Government's liaison to the Free French in 1943. He subsequently became the British ambassador to France in 1944 and was a great success in Paris. He left office in 1947, was knighted, and devoted himself primarily to literature until his death in 1954 at the age of 63. He produced during this period the classic autobiography Old Men Forget
Old Men Forget
Old Men Forget is a 1953 autobiography by Duff Cooper, Viscount Norwich, detailing his Victorian childhood, Edwardian youth, and work in literature and politics....
and was eventually created Viscount Norwich
Viscount Norwich
Viscount Norwich, of Aldwick in the County of Sussex, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1952 for the Conservative politician, author and former Ambassador to France, Sir Duff Cooper. He was the son of Sir Alfred Cooper and the husband of Lady Diana Manners. the...
, of Aldwick
Aldwick
Aldwick is a civil parish in the Arun district of West Sussex, England, and is part of the built-up area around Bognor Regis, to the west of the town. The parish includes Rose Green and occupies an area of , and has a population of 10,884 persons.It became, briefly, the focus of the British Empire...
in the County of Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, in 1952 in recognition of his political and literary career. His wife refused to be called Lady Norwich, claiming that it sounded too much like "porridge" and promptly took out a newspaper advertisement declaring that she would retain her previous style of Lady Diana Cooper.
Family
Duff Cooper's only legitimate child, John Julius NorwichJohn Julius Norwich
John Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich CVO — known as John Julius Norwich — is an English historian, travel writer and television personality.-Early life:...
(born in 1929), became well known as a writer and television host and has published a collection of his father's diaries The Duff Cooper Diaries: 1915–1951. His granddaughter Artemis Cooper
Artemis Cooper
The Hon. Alice Clare Antonia Opportune Cooper Beevor is a British writer known as Artemis Cooper.Known as Artemis, a nickname which honours her paternal grandmother, she is the only daughter of the 2nd Viscount Norwich and his first wife, the former Anne Clifford, and a granddaughter of the...
has published several books, including A Durable Fire: The Letters of Duff and Diana Cooper, 1913–50. Another granddaughter is screenwriter Allegra Huston
Allegra Huston
-Biography:Huston was born in London, England. Her mother was the American ballerina Enrica "Ricki" Soma and her biological father is John Julius Norwich ....
, the only child of Norwich and Enrica Soma Huston, estranged wife of the American film director John Huston
John Huston
John Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...
. Duff Cooper's niece Enid Levita (daughter of his sister Stephanie) is the paternal grandmother of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
leader David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
, who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
in 2010. Duff Cooper was the subject of a biography by John Charmley
John Charmley
John Charmley is a British diplomatic historian and a professor of modern history at the University of East Anglia, where he has been head of the School of History since 2001. Specialising in modern diplomatic and political history, Charmley's historical work has proved to be controversial, most...
and a British literary award, the Duff Cooper Prize
Duff Cooper Prize
The Duff Cooper Prize is a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of history, biography, political science or poetry, published in English or French. The prize was established in honour of Duff Cooper, a British diplomat, Cabinet member and acclaimed author. The prize was first awarded...
was established in his name.
Fictional role
H. G. WellsH. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
in The Shape of Things to Come
The Shape of Things to Come
The Shape of Things to Come is a work of science fiction by H. G. Wells, published in 1933, which speculates on future events from 1933 until the year 2106. The book is dominated by Wells's belief in a world state as the solution to mankind's problems....
, published in 1934, predicted a Second World War in which Britain would not participate but would vainly try to effect a peaceful compromise. In this vision, Duff Cooper was mentioned as one of several prominent Britons delivering "brilliant pacific speeches" which "echo throughout Europe" but fail to end the war (the other would-be peacemakers, in Wells' vision, included Hore Belisha, Ellen Wilkinson
Ellen Wilkinson
Ellen Cicely Wilkinson was the Labour Member of Parliament for Middlesbrough and later for Jarrow on Tyneside. She was one of the first women in Britain to be elected as a Member of Parliament .- History :...
and Randolph Churchill
Randolph Churchill
Major Randolph Frederick Edward Spencer-Churchill, MBE was the son of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his wife Clementine. He was a Conservative Member of Parliament for Preston from 1940 to 1945....
).