On the Back of an Envelope: A Life in Writing

New and selected writings by one of the United Kingdom's leading contemporary historians.

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 Times, the Economist, and the Financial Times, 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.

In this new volume, he brings together selected journalism, unpublished lectures, and new writing alongside personal recollections and reflections on his time observing postwar Britain, how it is governed, and those who do the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."

Preface: (North) Circular Thoughts // xv

Part One: Formations // 5

Part Two: Crown and Constitution // 87

Part Three: Prime Ministers, Parliament, and Politicians // 152

Part Four: On Crown Service // 252

Acknowledgements // 303

Also by Peter Hennessy // 305

Peter Hennessy is Attlee professor of contemporary British history at Queen Mary University of London. He is the author of Never Again: Britain 1945-51 (winner of the NCR Award and the Duff Cooper Prize), Having It So Good: Britain in the Fifties (winner of the Orwell Prize), and Winds of Change: Britain in the Early Sixties, as well as the bestselling The Prime Minister and The Secret State. Hennessy was made an independent crossbench life peer in 2010.

Polly Coupar-Hennessy lives in Sheffield and works in educational publishing. This is her first contribution to a book as a co-author.

'One of the country's finest contemporary historians, Hennessy has tracked Westminster like no one else'

'Hennessy, unique among contemporary historians, understands politics from the inside out'

'No current historian is as versed as Hennessy in the internal cogs and springs of the British state, but he also hs a keen eye for the luminous face of passing time'

'Hennessy is ... driven by a romantic, almost sensual, fascination with British history, culture, and the quirky intricacies of British democracy and the government machine. His curiosity is insatiable, his memory infinitely capacious'

'What makes him such a deft public historian is the way he stitches patches of rich local colour into a narrative with the widest possible reach'

‘In its pithy, personal yet panoptic tone, it is strongly reminiscent of Orwell’s wartime essays – with the author’s deep knowledge of contemporary politics and society worn very lightly.’

‘Perceptive, witty, and positive.’

‘Lord Hennessy’s timely collection of his thoughts on our constitution and democracy is written with his usual clarity.’