The last in the Strangers and Brothers series has Sir Lewis Eliot’s heart stop briefly during an operation. During recovery he passes judgment on his achievements and dreams. Concerns fall from him, leaving only ironic tolerance. His son Charles takes up his father’s burdens, and like his father, he is involved in the struggles of class and wealth, but he challenges the establishment, risking his future in political activities.
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About the Author
C.P. Snow was born in Leicester, on 15 October 1905. He was educated from age 11 at Alderman Newton's School for boys where he excelled in most subjects, enjoying a reputation for an astounding memory. In 1923, he gained an external scholarship in science at London University, whilst working as a laboratory assistant at Newton's to gain the necessary practical experience, because Leicester University, as it was to become, had no chemistry or physics departments at that time.
Having achieved a first class degree, followed by a Master of Science he won a studentship in 1928 which he used to research at the famous Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge. Snow went on to become a Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge, in 1930 where he also served as a tutor, but his position became increasingly titular as he branched into other areas of activity. In 1934, he began to publish scientific articles in 'Nature', and then 'The Spectator' before becoming editor of the journal 'Discovery' in 1937.
He was also writing fiction during this period and in 1940 'Strangers and Brothers' was published. This was the first of eleven novels in the series and was later renamed 'George Passant' when 'Strangers and Brothers' was used to denote the series itself. 'Discovery' became a casualty of the war, closing in 1940. However, by this time Snow was already involved with the Royal Society, who had organised a group to specifically use British scientific talent operating under the auspices of the Ministry of Labour. He served as the Ministry's technical director from 1940 to 1944.
After the war, he became a civil service commissioner responsible for recruiting scientists to work for the government and also returned to writing, continuing the 'Strangers and Brothers' novels. 'The Light and the Dark' was published in 1947, followed by 'Time of Hope' in 1949, and perhaps the most famous and popular of them all, 'The Masters', in 1951. He planned to finish the cycle within five years, but the final novel 'Last Things' wasn't published until 1970.
C.P. Snow married the novelist Pamela Hansford Johnson in 1950 and they had one son, Philip, in 1952. He was knighted in 1957 and became a life peer in 1964, taking the title Baron Snow of the City Leicester. He also joined Harold Wilson's first government as Parliamentary Secretary to the new Minister of Technology. When the department ceased to exist in 1966 he became a vociferous back-bencher in the House of Lords.
After finishing the 'Strangers and Brothers' series, Snow continued writing both fiction and non-fiction. His last work of fiction was 'A Coat of Vanish', published in 1978. His non-fiction included a short life of Trollope published in 1974 and another, published posthumously in 1981, 'The Physicists: a Generation that Changed the World'. He was also inundated with lecturing requests and offers of honorary doctorates. In 1961, he became Rector of St. Andrews University and for ten years also wrote influential weekly reviews for the 'Financial Times'.
Having achieved a first class degree, followed by a Master of Science he won a studentship in 1928 which he used to research at the famous Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge. Snow went on to become a Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge, in 1930 where he also served as a tutor, but his position became increasingly titular as he branched into other areas of activity. In 1934, he began to publish scientific articles in 'Nature', and then 'The Spectator' before becoming editor of the journal 'Discovery' in 1937.
He was also writing fiction during this period and in 1940 'Strangers and Brothers' was published. This was the first of eleven novels in the series and was later renamed 'George Passant' when 'Strangers and Brothers' was used to denote the series itself. 'Discovery' became a casualty of the war, closing in 1940. However, by this time Snow was already involved with the Royal Society, who had organised a group to specifically use British scientific talent operating under the auspices of the Ministry of Labour. He served as the Ministry's technical director from 1940 to 1944.
After the war, he became a civil service commissioner responsible for recruiting scientists to work for the government and also returned to writing, continuing the 'Strangers and Brothers' novels. 'The Light and the Dark' was published in 1947, followed by 'Time of Hope' in 1949, and perhaps the most famous and popular of them all, 'The Masters', in 1951. He planned to finish the cycle within five years, but the final novel 'Last Things' wasn't published until 1970.
C.P. Snow married the novelist Pamela Hansford Johnson in 1950 and they had one son, Philip, in 1952. He was knighted in 1957 and became a life peer in 1964, taking the title Baron Snow of the City Leicester. He also joined Harold Wilson's first government as Parliamentary Secretary to the new Minister of Technology. When the department ceased to exist in 1966 he became a vociferous back-bencher in the House of Lords.
After finishing the 'Strangers and Brothers' series, Snow continued writing both fiction and non-fiction. His last work of fiction was 'A Coat of Vanish', published in 1978. His non-fiction included a short life of Trollope published in 1974 and another, published posthumously in 1981, 'The Physicists: a Generation that Changed the World'. He was also inundated with lecturing requests and offers of honorary doctorates. In 1961, he became Rector of St. Andrews University and for ten years also wrote influential weekly reviews for the 'Financial Times'.
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4.5 out of 5 stars
2 reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
no title
April 28 2006
By C. L Wilson
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
The last one - 11 books - took me seven months to read them all, and now I feel berift, like something has left my life. An amazing accomplishment by Snow which started in 1940 and was completed with this novel, published in 1970. The span of a man's life is covered, Lewis Eliot, I greatly suspect Snow's alter ego, and in this last one, he is threatened with death, a dear friend in fact does die, a step-son marries and has a child, and Eliot's own son goes off to make his own fate. George Passant dies alone, life goes on. A good wrapping up of things. I will remember the heart of the series, which is that a human's actions are part his own nature, part the times in which he lives. This series should be remembered better. Eliot is about 62 when the novel ends.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Families
Oct 18 2008
By Mary E. Sibley
- Published on Amazon.com
Lewis Eliot's wife's name is Margaret. Her father, Austin Davidson, attempts suicide. Margaret sees this as a kind of breach of trust. Margaret and Lewis visit Hector Rose, a former civil servant now retired. He has remarried and his new wife is young. Lewis's nephew Pat claims he wants to name his new baby after Margaret. (The child turns out to be a son.) Pat's wife Muriel makes her own decision about naming the baby. Following the baby's birth, Muriel arranges a separation from Pat.
When Lewis's son Charles, age seventeen, returns from a trip abroad he says he is struck by how inward Britain has become. After his wife turns him out, Pat visits the dying Austin Davidson. Trying to decide whether to take a government job, Lewis encounters Sammikins, who is gaunt-faced, (inoperable cancer). He decides not to take the job. The novel is set in 1965, a time when British power and influence had diminished. Austin Davidson, a pre-1914 member of the group known as the Apostles believed that no good man got involved in politics. He was pleased with Lewis's decision.
Lewis has surgery for a slipped retina. He learns that while he was under anesthesia his heart had stopped. Francis Getliffe, a comrade and notable university scientist, feels that Lewis's experience should not have happened.
While speaking to one of Charles's friends, Lewis registers the fact that in 1965 people no longer try very hard to disguise their regional accents.
This is as strong a novel in the STRANGERS AND BROTHERS series as any of the others. As characters die and plot lines are tied up the reader feels things end naturally and reasonably. There seems to be no weakening of purpose on the part of the author, no slackness.
When Lewis's son Charles, age seventeen, returns from a trip abroad he says he is struck by how inward Britain has become. After his wife turns him out, Pat visits the dying Austin Davidson. Trying to decide whether to take a government job, Lewis encounters Sammikins, who is gaunt-faced, (inoperable cancer). He decides not to take the job. The novel is set in 1965, a time when British power and influence had diminished. Austin Davidson, a pre-1914 member of the group known as the Apostles believed that no good man got involved in politics. He was pleased with Lewis's decision.
Lewis has surgery for a slipped retina. He learns that while he was under anesthesia his heart had stopped. Francis Getliffe, a comrade and notable university scientist, feels that Lewis's experience should not have happened.
While speaking to one of Charles's friends, Lewis registers the fact that in 1965 people no longer try very hard to disguise their regional accents.
This is as strong a novel in the STRANGERS AND BROTHERS series as any of the others. As characters die and plot lines are tied up the reader feels things end naturally and reasonably. There seems to be no weakening of purpose on the part of the author, no slackness.
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4.5 out of 5 stars
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