+ N Y Times p3 N 14 ’20 1650w
Reviewed by R. R. Bowker
+ Pub W 98:1883 D 18 ’20 150w
Reviewed by E. L. Pearson
Review 3:531 D 1 ’20 500w
“It is after a fashion moral in tone, even religious, as is apparently, the writer’s character; it is reticent in political matters; and it is undeniably clever. With a little more pruning Mrs Asquith’s ‘Autobiography’ might have been a valuable and innocent record of a memorable society and an interesting period; as it stands, it is a scandal. Not, as we have said, for moral reasons in the narrower sense of the word, but for its wanton disregard of reticence and decorum.”
+ − Review 3:623 D 22 ’20 1000w
“The fascination of the book lies in its bold defiance of British literary and social tradition, and its studied departure from the conventional.”
+ R of Rs 63:109 Ja ’21 90w
“A book, particularly one written on some of the first figures in the country, should have some solid worth, and represent some substantial judgment. Mrs Asquith prides herself on saying exactly what she likes, on writing exactly what she thinks; but the result is not often judicious, nor of any importance, except as a tribute to the taste of the age.”