''Old Men Forget'' is a 1953 autobiography by

Duff Cooper Alfred Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich, (22 February 1890 – 1 January 1954), known as Duff Cooper, was a British Conservative Party politician and diplomat who was also a military and political historian. First elected to Parliament in 19 ...

, Viscount Norwich, detailing his Victorian childhood,

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

youth, and work in literature and politics.

Publishing history, content and reception

The title is taken from the

St Crispin's Day Speech The St Crispin's Day speech is a part of William Shakespeare's history play ''Henry V'', Act IV Scene iii(3) 18–67. On the eve of the Battle of Agincourt, which fell on Saint Crispin's Day, Henry V urges his men, who were vastly outnumbered by ...

by King Henry in Act IV, Scene 3 of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's ''

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1 ...

'': Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot But he'll remember with advantages What feats he did that day. Despite the title, Cooper was in his early sixties when he wrote the book, having retired from public life in 1947 at the age of fifty-seven. The publisher

Rupert Hart-Davis Sir Rupert Charles Hart-Davis (28 August 1907 – 8 December 1999) was an English publisher and editor. He founded the publishing company Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd. As a biographer, he is remembered for his ''Hugh Walpole'' (1952), as an editor, f ...

, who was Cooper's nephew, published the first edition in November 1953. Duff Cooper 1941

The book covers Cooper's early years – his schooldays at

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 ...

, studies and socialising at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

– followed by his army service in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, in which he fought in the trenches and was one of the few members of his intimate circle to survive the war."Freshly Remembered: Lord Norwich's Memoirs", ''The Times'', 4 November 1953, p. 10 In peacetime he was an official in the Foreign Office until entering Parliament in 1924. The book includes an account of Field Marshal Allenby's struggles with

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during ...

over Egypt, seen from Cooper's viewpoint as a public servant. The bulk of the book deals with Cooper's political career in the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, as an MP and minister. His accounts of the appeasement years before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

include severe criticism of Neville Chamberlain and ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

''. Under

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

, Cooper served as Minister of Information, Resident Minister at Singapore, Representative to the French Committee of Liberation, and Ambassador to France. He recounts the fractious relations between Churchill and

General de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

, in which the latter is depicted with what a reviewer calls "admiration and respect, and at times with affectionate exasperation". ''Old Men Forget'' was well received by reviewers. ''The Times'' said, "at times he can stir the reader deeply with his account of human sorrow or success. With all this he succeeds, not indeed in writing one of the greatest autobiographies, but at least in writing one where the many good things are a delight and which is always full of interest." In ''

The Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', Roger Fulford wrote, "The gifts of understanding and of style, which distinguish this book, lift it above the serried ranks of recollections and memoirs into the realm of literature. Harold Nicolson in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'' called the book "an autobiography which, in its perfect balance between the objective and the subjective … furnishes an example of the way in which this sort of thing should be done." The book was reissued by

Faber & Faber Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel ...

in 2011.WorldCat

References and sources

References

Sources

* {{cite book , last=Lyttelton , first=George , authorlink1 = George William Lyttelton , author2=Hart-Davis-Rupert, title=

Lyttelton/Hart-Davis Letters The Lyttelton/Hart-Davis Letters are a correspondence between two literary Englishmen, George Lyttelton (1883–1962) and Rupert Hart-Davis (1907–99), written between 1955 and Lyttelton's death, and published by Hart-Davis in six volumes betwee ...

, ''Volume 2'', year= 1979 , location=London , publisher=John Murray, isbn=978-0-7195-3673-1 1953 non-fiction books Biographies about politicians Rupert Hart-Davis books