Horace Farquhar by Lord Lexden REDUCED TO £5
£5.00
Paperback
1 March 2023
Conservative History Group
"I couldn't put it down until I had read it all. It is a fascinating and extraordinary story, and you have done a remarkable job in piecing it all together." Prof Stuart Ball
Horace Farquhar ( 1844-1923), the son of a hard-up baronet,combined social climbing with a complete lack of financial scruple.
Having wormed his way into a lucrative banking job, he befriended the immensely wealthy Earl Fife, with whom he may have had a sexual relationship, and rapidly began investing his friend's money,largely in himself.
He rented a home near Sandringham and threw grand parties. He managed to stay on close terms with both the louche Edward VII and his dour, highly respectable son, George V. The future George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon met in his ballroom.
As the Conservative Party's first treasurer(1911-23) he swelled its coffers,to which he then helped himself, as well as diverting funds to assist the last Liberal prime minister, Lloyd George who gave him an earldom . His misdeeds, uncovered by Alistair Lexden in this book, were numerous and varied. They included thefts of pearls from his own wife.Yet after a spectacular life of successful dishonesty, he died penniless.
Reviewing the book, Patrick Kidd, the author and journalist, described it as " a fascinating tale, well researched and elegantly written."