Lloyd George once spoke of 'a very powerful combination
- in its way the most powerful in the country'. Its proceedings were invariably conducted at Cliveden, the country estate of the fabulously wealthy Nancy & Waldorf Astor. Collectively dubbed ' God's Truth Ltd', the group included leading politicians, academics, writers & newspaper editors. Its pedigree impeccable, its social standing beyond reproach, its persuasive powers permeated the clubs & institutions of London, the senior common rooms of Oxbridge colleges, the quality press & the great country houses of Engl&. Suddenly, in the late 1930s, the ' Cliveden Set' was catapulted into uncalled-for notoriety. It had been identified as a cabal that sought to manipulate, even determine, British foreign policy in order to uphold its narrow class interests. It would use any means, however devious
- even negotiate a humiliating, dishonourable settlement with Nazi Germany
- to maintain its privileges, those of a decaying ruling class. But was the ' Cliveden Set' a traitorous cabal, challenging 'the constitutional structures of British democracy', or simply an unstructured think-tank of harmless do-gooders? Norman Rose discerningly probes this fascinating tale, brilliantly disentangling fact from fiction, & setting this privileged clique in the wider perspective of its times.