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Originally written for Debrett's Peerage, Douglas Sutherland's guide to that endangered species, the English Gentleman, was intended as an antidote to all the endless, dull little books on manners and etiquette. It offers a window on the rather perverse world of the genuine article.
First published under title: The fourth man.Reprint. Originally published: New York : Time Books, 1981.Includes index.
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The characteristics of the English Gentleman went unremarked in their homeland. It was only when they ventured to foreign parts that their characteristics became caricatures in the eyes of amazed natives. Douglas Sutherland, whose chronicles of what must surely be a dying species have attracted world-wide attention, he has travelled widely abroad armed with a Collectors Kit for the purpose of researching this book. With the unerring nose of the connoisseur he has sniffed out the Gentlemen in his tradition watering holes and, by and large, has found him alive and well. In giving us the result of his researches he has recognised that with the invention of such new-fangled devices as the flying machine some change is inevitable.
The 5th Earl of Lonsdale, Hugh Lowther, was perhaps the most famous English Lord in the world by the 1880s. His reckless spending of his vast fortune, his womanising, his love of gambling, horses, hunting and boxing rocked the aristocracy and has endeared him to risk-takers and bon-viveurs the world over ever since. As a penniless, wayward, younger son who had not expected to inherit, Hugh had joined a travelling circus for a year after leaving Eton, then moved on to America, spending months buffalo-hunting. He pawned his birthright to make his fortune from cattle ranching in Wyoming and was practically destitute when the scheme failed. But then his older brother unexpectedly died, Hugh took both the title and the vast fortune that went with it, and the rest is history: a close friend of Edward VII before and after his coronation, a great public benefactor and an unforgettable showman in everything he did. This biography is an elegant and fascinating tribute to one of aristocracy's greatest eccentrics.
The 5th Earl of Lonsdale, Hugh Lowther, was perhaps the most famous English Lord in the world by the 1880s. His reckless spending of his vast fortune, his womanising, his love of gambling, horses, hunting and boxing rocked the aristocracy and has endeared him to risk-takers and bon-viveurs the world over ever since. As a penniless, wayward, younger son who had not expected to inherit, Hugh had joined a travelling circus for a year after leaving Eton, then moved on to America, spending months buffalo-hunting. He pawned his birthright to make his fortune from cattle ranching in Wyoming and was practically destitute when the scheme failed. But then his older brother unexpectedly died, Hugh took both the title and the vast fortune that went with it, and the rest is history: a close friend of Edward VII before and after his coronation, a great public benefactor and an unforgettable showman in everything he did.
'You know you're in the presence of an expert when you read The Siege. A gripping debut novel.' Jeffrey Archer Nine hostages. Ten hours. One chance to save them all. Lee James Connor has found his purpose in life: to follow the teachings of far-right extremist leader, Nicholas Farmer. So when his idol is jailed, he comes up with the perfect plan: take a local immigrant support group hostage until Farmer is released. Grace Wheatley is no stranger to loneliness having weathered the passing of her husband, whilst being left to raise her son alone. The local support group is her only source of comfort. Until the day Lee James Connor walks in and threatens the existence of everything she's ever known. Superintendent Alex Lewis may be one of the most experienced hostage negotiators on the force, but there's no such thing as a perfect record. Still haunted by his last case, can he connect with Connor - and save his nine hostages - before it's too late? 'A masterly, gripping tale of a siege, written with a true voice of authority.' - Peter James