The Past We Share. An illustrated history of the British and American peoples. Edited by Peter Quennell and Alan Hodge
Peter Quennell (1905-1993)
Category
Books
Date
1960
Materials
Place of origin
England
Collection
Chartwell, Kent
NT 3133017
Summary
The book is an illustrated history of Anglo-American relations Book gifted by : Alan Hodge Book Inscription Signature: Alan Hodge Book Inscription: To Sir Winston Churchill from his follower in the paths of history Alan Hodge.
Full description
**The Inscribed Books Collection, to which this book belongs, consists of gift inscriptions on third party books given to Sir Winston Churchill from friends, family, and well-wishers, unsolicited presentation copies of books by strangers, as well as presentation copies from authors who were genuine friends and colleagues. After his death in January 1965, Churchill personally bequeathed the collection via his Will as a testament to his national and international achievements. 'The Past We Share' provides an illustrated history of the British and American people. Published in 1960 by Weidenfield C. Nicholson, Alan Hodge (16th October 1915 -25 May 1979) and Peter Quennell (9 March 1905 - 27 October 1993) were joint editors of the book. Hodge was born in Yorkshire and in the late 1930s, after reading history at Oxford University, became a member of the artistic assemble centred around Laura Riding and Robert Graves. He went on to collaborate with Graves on three books. During the Second World War, Hodge worked for the Minister of Information where he served, firstly under Sir Harold Nicholson and then under Brendan Bracken. After the 1945 general election the latter, who was previously minister in the British COnservative cabinet, was out of office and accepted a position at the Financial Times, taking Hodge with him as his assistant. Bracken was a close friend and loyal supporter of Sir Winston Churchill. In the fifties Hodge worked as a literary assistant for Churchill who was writing his 'History of the English Speaking Peoples'. In 1951 Bracken created the magazine 'History Today' and employed both Hodge and Quennell as editors. Hodge edited the magazine until his death. Quennell was born in Kent and also attended Oxford University. He was a biographer and literary historian, who is best known as an authority on Lord Byron. His works include two best-selling biographies 'The Years of Fame' (1935) and 'Byron in Italy' (1941). Quennell also wrote books on icons on icons of English literature such as John Ruskin, Alexander Pope, William Shakespeare and Samuel Johnson. He was knighted in 1992, a year before he died.
Bibliographic description
xi,307p., plates : ill. ; 29cm. Provenance: Inscribed "To Sir Winston Churchill from his follower in the paths of history Alan Hodge." Binding: publisher's cream cloth.
Provenance
The book was gifted to Churchill by Hodge who inscribed it with his signature and a brief message addressed to Churchill which reads: "To Sir Winston Churchill from his follower in the paths of history Alan Hodge" In the Churchill Archives you can find a number of correspondences between Churchill and Hodge.
Makers and roles
Peter Quennell (1905-1993) Alan Hodge (1915-1979)