1 option
Banker, traitor, scapegoat, spy? : the troublesome case of Sir Edgar Speyer : an episode of the great war / Antony Lentin ; with a foreword by Sir Louis Blom-Cooper.
Lippincott Library HG172.S649 L468 2013
Available
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Lentin, A. (Antony)
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Speyer, Edgar, 1862-1932.
- Speyer, Edgar.
- Capitalists and financiers--Great Britain--Biography.
- Capitalists and financiers.
- Businessmen--Great Britain--Biography.
- Businessmen.
- Jewish philanthropists.
- Great Britain.
- Jewish philanthropists--Great Britain--Biography.
- Genre:
- Biographies.
- Physical Description:
- xxiv, 216 pages
- Place of Publication:
- London : Haus Publishing Ltd, [2013]
- Summary:
- Sir Edgar Speyer (1862-1932) was a celebrated figure in the financial, cultural and political high life of Edwardian England. 'King of the London Underground' and friend of Liberal Prime Minister Asquith, he was a generous public benefactor, who rescued the Proms from disaster and directed the funding of Captain Scott's Antarctic expeditions. In 1914 Speyer stood at the peak of his fame. On the outbreak of war, he became a pariah. Though a naturalised British citizen for over 20 years, his German parentage caused him to be ostracised by society and hounded out of the country by unscrupulous politicians and an irresponsible Press. In 1921, under the newly enacted Aliens Act, he appeared before a judicial tribunal, which found him guilty of disloyalty and disaffection and of communicating and trading with Germany in wartime. He was stripped of his citizenship and membership of the Privy Council.
- Traitor spy, or scapegoat for the Liberal Party? The Speyer case remains controversial: in the foreword, Sir Louis Blom-Cooper QC sees Speyer a the victim of injustice, while other scholars do not doubt his pro-German sympathies. Professor Lentin provides a balanced analysis, using newly-released documents to give the first detailed account of the fall of Sir Edgar Speyer. Book jacket.
- Contents:
- I La Belle Epoque 1
- II The Blast of War 32
- III Hue and Cry 54
- IV On the Trail 71
- V The Trial (i) Two-penny-ha'penny transactions? 95
- VI The Trial (ii) Facing the music 122
- VII Retrospect: Which of us was to blame? 149
- VIII Epilogue 173.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- ISBN:
- 9781908323118
- 1908323116
- OCLC:
- 806200913
The Penn Libraries is committed to describing library materials using current, accurate, and responsible language. If you discover outdated or inaccurate language, please fill out this feedback form to report it and suggest alternative language.