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THESE
are the British
THESE
are the British
BY
DREW MIDDLETON
New York: Alfred · A · Knopf: Mcmlvii
L.C. catalog card number: 57-11164
© Drew Middleton, 1957
Copyright 1957 by Drew Middleton. All rights reserved. No part ofthis book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writingfrom the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passagesin a review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper. Manufactured inthe United States of America. Published simultaneously in Canada byMcClelland & Stewart Limited.
FIRST EDITION
This book is dedicated
to the memory
of
ALEX CLIFFORD,
EVELYN MONTAGUE,
andPHILIP JORDAN
FOREWORD
It was in 1940 that the then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom notedthat Britain and the United States would have to be "somewhat mixed uptogether in some of their affairs for mutual and general advantage."This situation has persisted until the present. Yet, despite thecloseness of co-operation in the intervening years, there is amongAmericans a surprising lack of knowledge about modern Britain.
This book is an effort to provide a picture of that country—"warts andall." Such a book must perforce be uneven. There are areas of Britishlife—the attitude toward religion is one—that have not been touched.I have tried to emphasize those aspects which are least well known inthe United States and to omit as far as possible consideration of thosewhich are superficial. Ascot, I agree, is spectacular. But as far asmodern Britain is concerned it doesn't matter a damn. I hope, however,that the reader will find here some idea of what has been going on inBritain since 1945 and what is going on there today. This is a modern,mobile society, important to us as we are important to it. If we lookat this society realistically, we will discern physical and moralstrength that the fictions of Hollywood can never convey.
For one whose roots are deep in his own country, the British are adifficult people to understand. But they are worth un