Foreword by John Bercow In 2011 John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons, instigated a series of public lectures in which current parliamentarians reassessed the careers and characters of earlier parliamentary giants and the result was a sequence of fascinating reappraisals of some of the great political lives. Many of the pieces were informed by the lecturer having worked closely with the subject, while others such as Nicholas Soames on his grandfather Winston Churchill draw on even closer personal experience. But every contribution offers fresh insights, anecdotes and a new angle. The roll-call, both of lecturers and subjects, is outstanding: Kenneth Morgan on DAVID LLOYD GEORGE, Sir Peter Tapsell on F. E. SMITH, Shirley Williams on NANCY ASTOR, Nicholas Soames on SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL, Gordon Marsden on ANEURIN BEVAN, Neil Kinnock on MICHAEL FOOT, Philip Norton on ENOCH POWELL, Douglas Hurd on IAIN MACLEOD, Andrew Adonis on ROY JENKINS, John Whittingdale on MARGARET THATCHER, Tristram Hunt on TONY BENN. A fascinating insight into the character of the great politicians.