Life, 1920-07-01 · page 52 of 56
Life — July 1, 1920 — page 52: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily an advertisement for the publication of Margot Asquith's memoir/diary in *Metropolitan* magazine. Margot was the wife of British Prime Minister H.H. Asquith, prominent in early 20th-century English society and politics. The ad promotes her diary as a forthright, witty insider account of British political and social life from the Gladstone era through World War I. The photograph shows a contemplative portrait. The epigraph "As well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb" suggests her promised candid revelations about prominent figures—implying she'll face criticism either way, so she might as well be thorough. The text emphasizes her unconventional personality: physically adventurous (broken bones, concussions), socially prominent (mentored by Gladstone, friend of Balfour), and politically engaged through her husband's career. The ad positions her diary as essential reading for understanding English society's inner workings during a transformative historical period.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Announcing the eagerly awaited Margot Asquith’s Diary © F. O. Horer “As well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb” Written with the dash and fire of one who has lived to squeeze from each minute of life the satisfying joy of being, the Diary of Margot Asquith, wife of England's great Liberal, will reg- ister up to the keen expectations its heralded publication cre- ated on both sides of the Atlantic. She has promised herself to “write without fear or favor exactly what I think and with @ strict regard to unmodeled truth and her copy is English society and politics from the days of stone down to the black hours of 1914 and the rumble of guns in France, as seen through the eyes of a woman of in- sight and rare wit. Here you see the great figures of your own day, handled without gloves, their foibles laughed at and most intimate conversations racily interpreted by an uncon- ventional young girl who slyly smoked cigarettes and flirted with engineers on trains in Victorian days She on Tennyson's knee and he read her “Maud” in unforgetable voice. Gladstone coached her as the wife-to-be of England's Premier, Balfour was an understanding friend through years of political turmoil and social warfare. And the much talked of “Souls” is intimately described by Mrs. Asquith, who was a leader of that curious circle. Accounting for her limited musical accomplishments she ven- tures that “ marriage and four babies, five step-children and a hus- band in high politics,” do limit one’s time and ambition, but seemingly in no other field of human effort does she fail to plunge with Rooseveltian vigor. In the fields, on the dance floor, or behind the tea cups of English politics, Margot Asquith, who writes of her out- door life “Th broken both collar-bones, all my ribs, knee caps, dislocati my skull, gashed my nose and had five concussions of the brain, is a forceful personality who hates timidity and indecision and feels the world her oyster. In the August issue, out July rsth. METROPOLITAN ing to paper restrictions ed of the Metropolitan will be limited. There are tt ys in which you may be sure of your Metropolitan. Teil es dealer to reserve a copy for you each month, or send $3.00 for a year's subscription to Metropolitan, 432 Fourth Avenue, New York. comicbook