Reading this Life of Lloyd George is like watching one of those old James Cagney movies where it's established early on that the protagonist isn't simply an anti-hero but, for all that he's lionised, an irredeemable villain. The fun comes from watching him get away with all sorts of caddishness early on and then carry on the virtuoso act long after everyone has got his number. Then, most enjoyable of all, there follows the long, slow decline, in which the villain continues to dream of greatness because he is so self-obsessed he can't understand that the game was up long ago.

LRB 20 January 2011 | PDF Download