Rhodes & Barnato: Architects of Empire

by James Leasor

This is the story of two young men who emigrated to South Africa in the late 19th century and who, together and separately - and quite unintentionally - were largely responsible for transforming a minor pastoral colony into a major industrial nation.
Cecil Rhodes, the son of a Hertfordshire vicar, was only 17 when he sailed to Durban to help an elder brother grow cotton on a small farm.
Barney Barnato, part-time boxer, barman and down-the-bill music hall comic, the son of an East End old clothes dealer, was three years older when he left England for Cape Town with [pound]30 capital and forty boxes of dubious cigars with which he intended to start trading.
Both these modest aims were suddenly and totally overtaken when they joined thousands of other enthusiastic amateurs digging for diamonds. Most found very few, but Rhodes and Barnato were immediately successful and on an unprecedented scale. Within a few years they were fabulously wealthy - billionaires by today's value.
One used his money to give his name to a country and to the scholarships that have offered many young men (and latterly women) round the world the opportunity of an Oxford education denied him at their age. The other formed a bank and became one of Britain's first self-made tycoons.
Much has been written about both men, but this is the first book which sets out to compare and contrast their very different personalities.
This book shows what Cecil Rhodes and Barney Barnato were like - not as pioneers, entrepreneurs and financiers - but simply as people - and explains how two such outwardly ordinary men succeeded beyond all imagining... and the price both finally paid for their years of power and glory.

277 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1997

About the author

James Leasor was a prolific British author, who wrote historical books and thrillers. A number of Leasor's works were made into films, including his 1978 book, Boarding Party, about an incident from the Second World War that until that time was secret, was turned into a film, "The Sea Wolves", starring Gregory Peck, Roger Moore and David Niven.

Thomas James Leasor was born at Erith, Kent, on 20th December 1923 and educated at the City of London School. On leaving school, whilst waiting to join the army, he had his first foray into journalism, as a cub scout reporter for the Kent Messenger.
He volunteered for the Army in World War 2, as soon as he was old enough. He was commissioned into the Royal Berkshire Regiment and served in Burma with the Lincolnshire Regiment.

After the war he went up to Oriel College, Oxford, to read English. There he edited the Isis magazine, before joining the Daily Express. He became a full-time author in the 1960s. He also ghosted a number of autobiographies for subjects as diverse as the Duke of Windsor, King Zog of Albania, the actors Kenneth More and Jack Hawkins and Rats, a Jack Russell terrier that served with the British Army in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

He lived for his last 40 years at Swallowcliffe Manor, near Salisbury in Wiltshire. He died on 10th September 2007 and is buried in the churchyard of St Peter’s Church, Swallowcliffe.

Reviews

[Agadah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this book a rating of 5 because I grew up in Southern Rhodesia and South Africa so the history of the two key protagonists in the finding of Southern Africa most interesting and also educative on the roles played by the British and the Afrikaaners. It would seem history sometimes chooses to have quite a short term memory.

As usual Mr Leasor has written a extremely well researched book. For those who are interested in the origins of De Beers and JCI and in the founding of these two companies .... a highly recommended read.

[Wade Burgess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read and enjoyed 2 biographies about Barnato. I tried and failed to read 3 different biographies about Rhodes. I enjoyed this book, but feel like I was only able to do so because Barnato was half of it.