Combining gems from the archives with despatches obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, this title is a treasure trove of wit, venom and serious analysis. It sheds light on Britain's place in the world, and reveal the curious cocktail of privilege and privation which make up the life of an ambassador.
The ambassadors' letters you were never meant to see
Matthew Parris's Parting Shots is a treasure trove of wit, venom and serious analysis.
Up till 2006 a British Ambassador leaving his post was encouraged to write what was known as a valedictory despatch, to be circulated to a small number of influential people in government. This was the parting shot, an opportunity to offer a personal and frank view of the host country, the manners and morals of its people, their institutions, the state of their cooking and their drains. But it was also a chance to let rip at the Foreign Office itself and to look back on a career spent in the service of a sometimes ungrateful nation.
Combining gems from the archives with more recent despatches obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, Parting Shots sheds light on Britain's place in the world, revealing the curious cocktail of privilege and privation that makes up the life of an ambassador.
'Wonderful ... a glimpse of that lost world of private eloquence and erudite candour' Matthew d'Ancona, Evening Standard
'Unbuttoned, indiscreet and very funny' Yorkshire Post
Matthew Parris had a short career in the Foreign Office where one of his tasks was to distribute incoming valedictory despatches. He was a Conservative MP from 1979 to 1986, since when he has worked as a journalist. He is the author of A Castle in Spain, Parting Shots, and A Spanish Ambassador's Suitcase. He divides his time between Derbyshire (where his old constituency was situated) and east London.
After working in the Foreign Office then serving as a Conservative MP, Matthew Parris joined
The Times in 1988. He writes two weekly columns for
The Times and one for the
Spectator, and in 2011 won the Best Columnist Award at the British Press awards. His acclaimed autobiography
Chance Witness was published by Penguin in 2003. He is a frequent broadcaster.
Über den Autor
Matthew Parris had a short career in the Foreign Office where one of his tasks was to distribute incoming valedictory despatches. He was a Conservative MP from 1979 to 1986, since when he has worked as a journalist. He won the Orwell Prize for Journalism, and his acclaimed autobiography Chance Witness was published by Penguin in 2002. He divides his time between Derbyshire (where his old constituency was situated) and east London.
Andrew Bryson is a radio journalist working in the BBC's Business and Economics Unit. He lives in Surrey.
Klappentext
An anthology of the best final reports of our Ambassadors serving abroad, based on the 2 successful BBC Radio 4 series presented by Parris. Hugely entertaining, and highly humorous, these 'parting shots' were the retiring Ambassadors' opportunity to offer a personal and frank view of the host country, its people, their institutions, the state of their cooking and their drains. They also let rip at the Foreign Office itself.
