Books in Brief: Lords, Ladies, and Gentlemen

Lords, Ladies, and Gentlemen: A Memoir, by Clifton Daniel (Arbor House, 253 pp., $16.95)

This is frothy stuff—notes from the datebook of a modern-day Regency rake. Mr. Daniel, formerly a foreign correspondent and managing editor of the New York Times, here serves up a confection of the royalty and politicians in his past, ranging from the Duke of Westminster to his father-in-law, Harry S. Truman. A man of “considerable charm and polish,” in the words of his boss Turner Catledge, Mr. Daniel had, if not “presence,” social grace, which stood him in good stead in all the right circles and sets in London, New York, and Washington. For an idea of the kinds of stories Mr. Daniel relates, consider the following: “It has been alleged, with some justification, that I was partial to rich and celebrated ladies. And why not? As a rule they lived in grander houses, served better food and drink, wore prettier clothes and bigger pearls, were more sophisticated and amusing, had more glittering friends, and did wonders for my ego.” It’s a wonderful life, and that is the kind of book Lords, Ladies, and Gentlemen is, featuring as it does caviar for breakfast in Kharkhov, grouse at the White House with President Kennedy, and a light lunch with Israel’s president Chaim Herzog. The author, who is of a type once known as “clubbable,” emphasizes table-talk and, even more, the tables and the names (and lineages) of the talkers. Lords, Ladies, and Gentlemen, while too cloying for a steady diet, makes a delectable dessert.

JM

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Joe Mysak

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Lords, Ladies, and Gentlemen: A Memoir, by Clifton Daniel (Arbor House, 253 pp., $16.95)

This is frothy stuff—notes from the datebook of a modern-day Regency rake. Mr. Daniel, formerly a foreign correspondent and managing editor of the New York Times, here serves up a confection of the royalty and politicians in his past, ranging from the Duke of Westminster to his father-in-law, Harry S. Truman. A man of “considerable charm and polish,” in the words of his boss Turner Catledge, Mr. Daniel had, if not “presence,” social grace, which stood him in good stead in all the right circles and sets in London, New York, and Washington. For an idea of the kinds of stories Mr. Daniel relates, consider the following: “It has been alleged, with some justification, that I was partial to rich and celebrated ladies. And why not? As a rule they lived in grander houses, served better food and drink, wore prettier clothes and bigger pearls, were more sophisticated and amusing, had more glittering friends, and did wonders for my ego.” It’s a wonderful life, and that is the kind of book Lords, Ladies, and Gentlemen is, featuring as it does caviar for breakfast in Kharkhov, grouse at the White House with President Kennedy, and a light lunch with Israel’s president Chaim Herzog. The author, who is of a type once known as “clubbable,” emphasizes table-talk and, even more, the tables and the names (and lineages) of the talkers. Lords, Ladies, and Gentlemen, while too cloying for a steady diet, makes a delectable dessert.