An Uneasy Inheritance
My Family and Other Radicals
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Atlantic Books
Published:1st Jun '23
Should be back in stock very soon
This book examines class dynamics in Britain through the author's family history, exploring privilege, ideals, and the need for honest conversations about social inequality.
In An Uneasy Inheritance, celebrated social commentator Polly Toynbee delves into the complexities of class in Britain through the lens of her remarkable family history. With a lineage steeped in leftist ideals yet comfortably ensconced in academia and journalism, Toynbee grapples with the contradictions that arise from her privileged background. She invites readers to reflect on the realities of class mobility and the often-uncomfortable truths about privilege and inequality that persist in contemporary society.
The narrative is enriched by vivid anecdotes and engaging storytelling, as Toynbee recounts tales from her ancestors, including her writer father, Philip, and her historian grandfather, Arnold. The presence of notable figures such as the Glenconners, Jessica Mitford, and Bertrand Russell adds depth to her exploration, showcasing a tapestry of relationships that both challenge and reinforce her family's ideals. The ancestral home, Castle Howard, serves as a poignant backdrop, symbolizing the weight of inherited privilege and the expectations that come with it.
Ultimately, An Uneasy Inheritance is not just a personal memoir; it is a compelling call for a candid dialogue about class dynamics in Britain. Through her insightful observations and reflections, Toynbee encourages readers to confront the uncomfortable truths of their own social standings and the broader implications for society as a whole.
Entertaining...a surprisingly enjoyable family memoir * Sunday Times *
Part social analysis, part polemic (once a columnist, always a columnist), part compelling family memoir, replete with vivid - often hilarious, often shocking - anecdotes. It is ultimately, however, a work of love, forgiveness and understanding. * Financial Times *
Fascinating...She has spent a lifetime highlighting the need for social change, and her book fizzes with that continuing purpose * Spectator *
Enthralling...laceratingly honest and often funny * Guardian *
An irresistible, self-aware British class comedy. It reads rather like an Evelyn Waugh novel * New Statesman *
For the many people who have followed Toynbee's career and felt a connection with her strong, radical voice, this book will delight and educate in equal measure * Yorkshire Life *
Marked by its compassion, humour and elegiac tone * Irish Times *
Funny, moving and crammed with extraordinary stories, the best, and least hypocritical, book about class I've ever read -- Andrew Marr
An outstanding work: totally absorbing and so well written, packed with interesting events, people and thoughts. -- Claire Tomalin
As usual with anything written by Polly Toynbee there is much insight and wisdom between its covers. What is unusual is the introspection. This is a book about class and feminism and social history. Above all it's a riveting and moving memoir about growing up on the privileged side of a class divide that she dedicated her professional life to eradicating. -- Alan Johnson
An extraordinary family memoir of generations of Toynbees for whom opposing class and privilege became the defining concern of their lives. This is a wonderful book, astute, funny, honest and deeply pertinent to Britain today. -- Caroline Moorehead
A compelling and delicious narrative that vividly describes the gallery of amazing Toynbee forbears and connections but also gives us an extraordinary history of progressive politics and social reform in this country over 150 years. The Toynbee story is unlike any other. A wonderful read. -- Baroness Helena Kennedy KC
An absorbing picture of entwined families managing for generations to lead (mostly) comfortable middle class lives while holding radical liberal or left wing views - uneasy indeed, but where would we be without them and others like them? -- Rt Hon Lady Hale DBE
ISBN: 9781838958350
Dimensions: 234mm x 153mm x 31mm
Weight: 676g
448 pages
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