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9781860644061

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Alan Lennox-Boyd was colonial secretary from 1954 to 1959, a critical time in the history of British postwar de-colonization. A powerful figure on the imperialist right of the Conservative party, he saw British rule as a benevolent force and worked to create political arrangements, particularly in Africa, that would slow down the transition to self-government and ensure that when it came it would leave power in the hands of 'moderate' (i.e. pro-British) politicians. This approach came unstuck, however, over Kenya and the Rhodesias where Lennox-Boyd was widely regarded, both in Africa and London, as a stooge of reactionary white settler interests. In the end the forces of African nationalism were too powerful for any British government to resist and most of Britain's African colonies had secured their independence by 1964. This book, despite or perhaps because of its 'period feel', authentically evokes the atmosphere and passions of the time and is a useful contribution to the literature on the last, self-deluding, phase of British colonialism. (Kirkus UK)

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Philip Murphy is a lecturer in modern British history at the University of Reading.

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