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C.P. Snow's Strangers and Brothers as Mid-twentieth-century History
C.P. Snow's Strangers and Brothers as Mid-twentieth-century History | Terrance L. Lewis
2 posts | 3 to read
This book studies C.P. Snow's eleven-volume series of novels ("Strangers and Brothers") as documents detailing the social and political life of mid-twentieth-century Britain, and points out the uses for the novels in the academic study of that time period. Both Snow and his central character, Lewis S. Eliot, started from unremarkable origins in terms of their mutual background in the lower reaches of the middle class, their dreams of success in their teen years, and their early professional education in a new, struggling academic institution in the mid-1920s. Neither could really be considered typical for men of their class. Eliot's working life would include being a very minor town clerk, a barrister, an advisor to a powerful industrialist, a Cambridge don, a moderately powerful civil servant, and finally, in early retirement, a writer. Eliot would befriend members of both the traditional and Jewish upper classes, scholars and brilliant scientists, powerful behind-the-scenes civil servants, second-tier British and Nazi politicians, financiers and industrialists, Communists, and writers and artists, providing a fairly broad overview of parts of the middle class and ruling elites of the periods. Snow's sequence of novels is therefore useful to the historian of twentieth-century Britain, both in understanding the period as it recedes away from common experience and in presenting the period in the classroom. Snow was a classic twentieth-century writer who presented a more balanced account of the British -governing classes- of the middle third of the twentieth century than did the upper-class (and would-be upper-class) or working-class writers of the same period. His novels provide an insight that every student of twentieth-century Britain must have on hand."
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CarolynM
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#20series20days

A series of 11 novels exploring the personal and professional life of Lewis Elliot from humble beginnings as his career moves through law, academia and the civil service during the period between about 1920 and 1970. Many of the books deal with the intricacies of group decision making and the exercise of power, often in relation to current issues of the day (such as the development of nuclear weapons).
Thanks Andrew, great idea!

LeahBergen I‘ve never heard of these! They sound great. 4y
TrishB @LeahBergen me neither! These posts are going to be dangerous 😁 4y
andrew61 Godh they look fascinating. 4y
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TrishB They are Qa.49 each on kindle.... 4y
Andrew65 I‘ve not heard of these either, need to look into them too. @TrishB @LeahBergen 4y
CarolynM @LeahBergen I think you would like them, but I warn you, the second book (George Passant) is a bit of a struggle. Don't let it put you off the rest, you can skip it without missing much. I don't think they're in print at the moment, but I've seen lots of editions of the individual novels in second hand shops over the years. 4y
CarolynM @andrew61 They are, but like I said to Leah, don't let the second one put you off. 4y
CarolynM @TrishB Like I said to Leah, beware the 2nd book. My favourite is a The Light and the Dark about a brilliant but flawed academic. The Masters is about electing a Master at a Cambridge College, Corridors of Power is about the machinations of Westminster. You can read them all individually, but the full effect comes from the whole series. (edited) 4y
TrishB I think my son may like these too, as he loves all the behind the scenes politics. 4y
CarolynM @TrishB Yes, he might. My husband, who has had a fair bit to do with government, loved Corridors of Power and The New Men. 4y
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CarolynM
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#riotgrams #belovedseries

I love this 11 novel series that explores the life and career of Lewis Eliot as he progresses from barrister's pupil to academic to civil servant and the people he comes into contact with. You can probably tell from the spines that my favourite in the series, The Light and the Dark, is in the first volume.

batsy Oh wow, this series sounds amazing! 7y
CarolynM @batsy It is. As the tagged book indicates the series also explores some interesting C20th history. Some of the characters are involved in the development of the atom bomb and later the main character is involved in government policy around nuclear armaments. 7y
batsy I'll definitely be checking it out. Have you read them all? 7y
CarolynM @batsy Yep. The only one I wouldn't recommend is the second one, George Passant. (edited) 7y
37 likes4 comments