{"product_id":"tory-heaven","title":"Tory Heaven","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"std\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"width: 520x;\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"\u003e\n\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/7642\/5795\/files\/A_again_slightly_better_3.jpg?v=1593113092\u0026amp;width=700\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWITH A PREFACE BY DAVID KYNASTON \u003cbr\u003e216pp\u003cbr\u003eISBN 9781910263181\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTory Heaven \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e(1948) was Marghanita Laski's third book, another satire after both \u003ci\u003eLove on the Super Tax \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTo Bed with Grand Music\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e. The plot\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eis as follows: five people return to England in August 1945 after having spent several years on a desert island (cue the 1946 \u003cstrong\u003eMiss Ranskill Comes Home\u003c\/strong\u003e. As they approach England ‘our hero’ James Leigh-Smith (think Jacob Rees-Mogg) prays, ‘“God, let it be as it might have been. Alter the clock, fix the election, do it any way you please, but let me see the England of all decent Conservatives’ dreams.” He raised an anguished face to the heavens and at that moment a loud clap of thunder was heard over his right shoulder.’ His prayer has been answered.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen they arrive at the port it takes him quite a while to work out what is going on: Britain in the grip of a Tory government, enduring a hierarchical class system in which everyone is (ruthlessly and self-servingly) graded (by the As) A, B, C, D or E. James Leigh-Smith is an A; ‘the B’s represent the middle classes; C’s are the servants of A’s. They are people who’ve \u003ci\u003echosen \u003c\/i\u003eto wait on A’s just to be in touch with them – waiters, hairdressers, butlers, housekeepers, and agricultural workers on big estates.’ D’s are Trade Unionists (‘don’t you have a lot of strikes?’ ‘Hardly, since all strikes are illegal’) and E’s ‘comprise the odds and sods. No privileges at all, of course. Tramps, casuals and, of course, any such Intellectuals as the police may happen to pick up.’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAdvertised in 1948 as ‘amusing and gay... an exquisite fantasy’, \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTory Heaven\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, subtitled \u003ci\u003eThunder on the Right\u003c\/i\u003e, ‘had a clear political agenda – being aimed squarely at those in the middle class who by now were starting to long for a return to the familiar Tory certainties of social hierarchy, of rigid class distinctions, and of almost unquestioned privilege for those born on the right side of the tracks’ (writes David Kynaston in his Persephone Preface). ‘Like the best satirists Marghanita Laski leaves it entirely to others to draw out the lessons of her story.’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe response to \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTory Heaven \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003ein the UK was positive: (‘wickedly amusing’ \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e, ‘wittily told’ \u003ci\u003eManchester Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e). But when it appeared in the US (as \u003ci\u003eToasted English\u003c\/i\u003e) the \u003ci\u003eAtlantic Monthly \u003c\/i\u003esaid: ‘With unfailing wit, Marghanita Laski has fashioned a scorching indictment of a hierarchical society’, while the \u003ci\u003eChicago Sun \u003c\/i\u003ecalled it ‘a satire in the tradition of Jonathan Swift.’ There are many acutely painful scenes: one that stands out is when the electoral system is explained to James. There is no more universal suffrage and Parliamentary seats have been redistributed in accordance with the conditions existing before 1832. ‘We got the Boundaries Commission onto that, and really they did a most satisfactory job. Manchester, for example, returns no member now, while our host Lord Starveleigh owns two. One is returned automatically by a gazebo in the garden while the other will be elected on Saturday.’ In the tradition of \u003ci\u003e1066 and All That, \u003c\/i\u003ethe book pushes the system to its logical absurdity: the Tory heaven is realised on earth today. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor more on \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTory Heaven\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e, have a look at the Persephone Perspective.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e Endpaper\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eThe endpapers taken from 'Transport', a 1945 dress fabric in printed rayon crepe designed by Feliks Topolski for Ascher Ltd \u003cspan data-ved=\"0ahUKEwi1nIatoaPaAhWmDsAKHd4CDYkQ4EUIZzAM\" data-hveid=\"103\" class=\"st\"\u003e ©\u003c\/span\u003e V\u0026amp;A Images.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePicture Caption\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eAn illustration from the dust jacket of the original American edition of \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eTory Heaven\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003edepicting the five grades of people that it satirises; we have turned this into a ‘belly band’ which wraps round the grey Persephone edition. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Marghanita Laski","offers":[{"title":"None","offer_id":54098792022323,"sku":"prr1789694773339","price":28.8,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Tissue\/Endpaper","offer_id":54098792055091,"sku":"oic1789694773340","price":30.72,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Cambridge Imprint paper","offer_id":54098792087859,"sku":"ijs1789694773341","price":37.23,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Reusable fabric napkin","offer_id":54098792120627,"sku":"eyh1789694773342","price":43.55,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0989\/0578\/4627\/files\/tory-heaven_1.jpg?v=1789694779","url":"https:\/\/sandstepclad.shop\/products\/tory-heaven","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}