Whitehall

by Peter Hennessy

An expert journalist's look inside the powerful, efficient, and intractable British Civil Service describes its evolution current structure, and notable personalities

Genres: Politics, History, Nonfiction

852 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1988

About the author

Peter Hennessy is an English historian and academic specialising in the history of government. Since 1992, he has been Attlee Professor of Contemporary British History at Queen Mary University of London.

He was born in Edmonton, the youngest child of William G. Hennessy by his marriage to Edith (Wood-Johnson) Hennessy

Hennessy attended the nearby Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School, and on Sundays he went to St Mary Magdalene church, where he was an altar boy. He was educated at St Benedict's School, an independent school in Ealing, West London. When his father's job led the family to move to the Cotswolds, he attended Marling School, a grammar school in Stroud, Gloucestershire. He went on to study at St John's College, Cambridge, where he was awarded a BA in 1969 and a PhD in 1990. Hennessy was a Kennedy Memorial Scholar at Harvard University from 1971 to 1972.

Hennessy went on to work as a journalist during the 1970s and 1980s.
He went on to co-found the Institute of Contemporary British History in 1986.

From 1992 to 2000, Hennessey was professor of contemporary history at Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London. From 1994 to 1997, he gave public lectures as Professor of Rhetoric at Gresham College, London. From 2001, he has been Attlee professor of contemporary British history at Queen Mary.

Hennessy's analysis of post-war Britain, 'Never Again: Britain 1945–1951', won the Duff Cooper Prize in 1992 and the NCR Book Award in 1993.

Furthermore, his study of Britain in the 1950s and the rise of Harold Macmillan, 'Having It So Good: Britain in the 1950s', won the 2007 Orwell Prize for political writing

Hennessy was created a life peer on November 8, 2010.

Reviews

[T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whitehall. More like long haul!... Hennessy is a national treasure, but boy does he need a copy editor

[Roy Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book on British political history ever written. Judicious, awesomely researched, deeply wise, and often funny (I found the Keynes story hilarious). It’s certainly not light reading but as an overview of the wiring of the British political system, it cannot be bettered.

[Freddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good insight but seems quite dated now. Despite this, issues facing the Civil Sevice and Britain in many ways have not changed.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henry the VIII told from the perspective of Cromwell - interesting concept. Tough to get through but worth the effort.