In the opening paragraph of his First Confession, Chris Patten recognises the risks of political autobiography. He is right: the memoirs of ex-pols are producing diminishing returns, with ever-heavier volumes producing ever-lighter contributions to history. Even if the calibre of the storytelling is good, there are serious problems in attempting to write one’s own political epitaph while the ground is still raised over the grave and the wilting flowers have not yet been discarded on the compost heap.
13 July 2017, The Tablet
Right at the centre
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