{"product_id":"on-the-back-of-an-envelope-a-life-in-writing-9781913368852","title":"On the Back of an Envelope: A Life in Writing","description":"\u003cb\u003eNew and selected writings by one of the United Kingdom's leading contemporary historians.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e As one of Britain's foremost constitutional experts and contemporary historians, Peter Hennessy has spent his professional life unpicking the arcane world of Whitehall and Westminster. He began his career as a journalist for the \u003ci\u003eTimes\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eEconomist\u003c\/i\u003e, and the \u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e, developing a network of insider contacts who helped him shine a light on some of the dustiest corners of the British establishment. As a journalist, prize-winning contemporary historian, and political commentator, he has chronicled the workings of the British state with wit, affection, and a healthy sense of the absurd over a five-decade career. Now a crossbench peer, he has, in his own words, \"moved in with his exhibits.\" Hennessy is also a stalwart of BBC election night coverage and a regular commentator on BBC Radio 4, bringing a historical and constitutional perspective on current events. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In this new volume, he brings together selected journalism, unpublished lectures, and new writing alongside personal recollections and reflections on his time observing postwar Britain, how it is governed, and those who do the governing. He reflects on the making and unmaking of prime ministers from Attlee to Truss, life in the House of Lords, and the changing constitutional landscape in the wake of Brexit and amid uncertainty about the future of the Union. Interspersed with lectures, journalism, and new pieces, Hennessy also looks back at a fascinating career, reflecting on his own experiences as a young green graduate navigating the hard-nosed world of Fleet Street in the 1970s, bringing to life a cast of characters from a world now largely gone. He revisits his time as a public historian, academic, and crossbench peer with a levity reflected in his belief that history is \"gossip with footnotes.\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePeter Hennessy \u003c\/b\u003eis one of the United Kingdom's leading contemporary historians and is the Attlee Professor of Contemporary British History at Queen Mary University of London. He is the author of definitive books on the United Kingdom's prime ministers, constitution, civil service, and intelligence agencies. His award-winning works of contemporary history include \u003ci\u003eNever Again: Britain, 1945-51\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHaving it So Good: Britain in the Fifties\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eWinds of Change: Britain in the Early Sixties\u003c\/i\u003e. He is the series editor of the Haus Curiosities, and his books published with Haus include \u003ci\u003eThe Bonfire of the Decencies\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Complete Reflections\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eLand of Shame and Glory\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cb\u003e Polly Coupar-Hennessy\u003c\/b\u003e is a freelance editor and writer.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Haus Pub.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51181857571090,"sku":"9781913368852","price":28.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_602c576f-609d-4f88-b421-88c5f4dfac2a.jpg?v=1744406161","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/on-the-back-of-an-envelope-a-life-in-writing-9781913368852","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}