I read this book when it was first published and just got around to reviewing it, after a quick re-read. I have since read The Great Silence: 1918-1920 Living in the Shadow of the Great War by this author and loved it, so with hindsight, I can say that I didn't like this one as well but still give it four stars.

Nicolson gives us a look at the summer months of 1911 when England was suffering one of its greatest heat waves. Tempers were short as Churchill, as Home Secretary, aggravated the Parliament; the general strike disrupted trade; Queen Mary really wasn't too fond of being Queen; the "Souls" were the epitome of high society silliness; and the House of Lords was stripped of its power of veto. In other words, events were occurring and attitudes were being shaped that would color the future of England which was little suspecting the war that was just over the horizon, both literally and figuratively. It is a social history of interest.