Rules of the Game; Beyond the Pale: Memoirs of Sir Oswald Mosley and Family

Once known as the most hated man in England, Sir Oswald Mosley (1896-1980) is an intriguing and infamous figure in British politics. Rich and aristocratic, Mosley began his political career within the fold of the smart international married to Cynthia Curzon, “Tom and Cimmie” counted among their friends Ramsay MacDonald, Winston Churchill, the Sitwells, and the Belgian royal family. Moving from within the fold to beyond the pale, Mosley switched from the Conservative party to Labour in protest against governmental brutality in Ireland, and then, in contempt of Labour’s broken campaign promises, founded the British Union of Fascists. Although still moving in aristocratic circles, Mosley’s fascist activities finally led to his imprisonment in 1940. Throughout his stormy career Mosley preserved his taste for the elegant pursuits of a country his warm correspondence with his son shows his interest in philosophy and literature. It was perhaps because he managed to embrace so many opposites at once that he appeared in old age so serene, and that he continues to fascinate us. Finally, this is also the autobiography of his son, distinguished novelist Nicholas Mosley, and his movement from worshipful adulation, to estrangement, to reconciliation and understanding of his remarkable father.