The Honourable David Alexander Reginald Herbert (3 October 1908 – 3 April 1995) was a British socialite and writer.

Early life and education

He was the second son of

Reginald Herbert, 15th Earl of Pembroke Reginald Herbert, 15th Earl of Pembroke and 12th Earl of Montgomery (8 September 1880 – 13 January 1960) was a British peer. His parents were Sidney Herbert, 14th Earl of Pembroke and Beatrix Louisa Lambton, daughter of George Lambton, 2nd Earl ...

. He spent his first few years in Castletown, Ireland. At the age of four, he moved to the family home of Wilton, near

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

. Attending Wixenford Preparatory School, he was later sent on to

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

Performing career

He had brief stints as both a film actor, appearing in 1930's ''Knowing Men'', and as a

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...

performer. He briefly shared an apartment with Noël Coward in the East End, and was satirized by

Lord Berners Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson, 14th Baron Berners (18 September 188319 April 1950), also known as Gerald Tyrwhitt, was a British composer, novelist, painter, and aesthete. He was also known as Lord Berners. Biography Early life and education ...

as the character Daisy Montgomery in his 1936 satiric novel, ''The Girls of Radcliff Hall''. He was also scathingly satirized as "Peter Barclay" in

William Bayer William Bayer (pronounced “byer”) is an American novelist, the author of twenty-one books including '' The New York Times'' best-sellers ''Switch'' and ''Pattern Crimes.'' Bayer has written a series of novels featuring fictional New York Pol ...

's novel ''Tangier''. III Church of St

Life in Tangier

He spent almost fifty years in

Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capi ...

, Morocco where he was known for his vibrant personality, frequent lavish parties, good taste, and ruthless

snobbery ''Snob'' is a pejorative term for a person who believes there is a correlation between social status (including physical appearance) and human worth.De Botton, A. (2004), ''Status Anxiety''. London: Hamish Hamilton ''Snob'' also refers to a per ...

. He was referred to by Ian Fleming as 'the Queen of Tangier'. He was labeled as the 'most terrible snob' by author Patrick Thursfield, who regularly enjoyed attending his famous parties.

Death

He died of

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

in 1995 and was buried in the cemetery at Saint Andrew's Church. He had been a devout Anglican. On his tombstone was engraved, "He loved Morocco".

Writing career

His books, with vitality and wit, recall his years in the company of such figures as

Cecil Beaton Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as an Oscar–winning stage and costume designer for films and the t ...

Lady Diana Cooper Diana, Viscountess Norwich (née Lady Diana Olivia Winifred Maud Manners; 29 August 1892 – 16 June 1986) was an English actress and aristocrat who was a well-known social figure in London and Paris. As a young woman, she moved in a celebrat ...

, Noël Coward,

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

and

Jane Bowles Jane Bowles (; born Jane Sydney Auer; February 22, 1917 – May 4, 1973) was an American writer and playwright. Early life Born into a Jewish family in New York City on February 22, 1917, to Sydney Auer (father) and Claire Stajer (mother), Jane ...

Cyril Connolly Cyril Vernon Connolly CBE (10 September 1903 – 26 November 1974) was an English literary critic and writer. He was the editor of the influential literary magazine '' Horizon'' (1940–49) and wrote '' Enemies of Promise'' (1938), which comb ...

, Brian Howard,

Barbara Hutton Barbara Woolworth Hutton (November 14, 1912 – May 11, 1979) was an American debutante, socialite, heiress, and philanthropist. She was dubbed the "Poor Little Rich Girl"—first when she was given a lavish and expensive debutante ball in 1930 a ...

Osbert Sitwell Sir Francis Osbert Sacheverell Sitwell, 5th Baronet CH CBE (6 December 1892 – 4 May 1969) was an English writer. His elder sister was Edith Sitwell and his younger brother was Sacheverell Sitwell. Like them, he devoted his life to art and ...

and

Tallulah Bankhead Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several prominent films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's '' L ...

. These include ''Second Son: An Autobiography'' (1972), which included a foreword by Paul Bowles and photographs by Cecil Beaton, ''Engaging Eccentrics: Recollections'' (1990), his second volume of autobiography, and ''Relations and Revelations: Advice to Jemima'' (1992), a book of memories and opinions written in the form of advice to his great-niece Jemima.

References

External links

A Biography of David Herbert by Kenneth Lisenbee
*
Information on Wilton House, home of the Earl of Pembroke
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herbert, David 1908 births 1995 deaths 20th-century Anglicans 20th-century English male actors 20th-century English memoirists English socialites Younger sons of earls People educated at Eton College People educated at Wixenford School English people of Russian descent English interior designers British expatriates in Morocco Deaths from kidney failure English Anglicans British cabaret performers Herbert family