Instant post-mortem verdicts

Yet this is the thrill of the book. Reputations change over time. Thus obituaries are not the last word but merely a fascinating product of their environment. Le Corbusier, an architect of ‘beauty’, is treated with adulation. His attempt to erase the centre of Paris and replace it with concrete tower blocks was a ‘far- reaching and revolutionary plan’, the realisation of which was prevented by ‘vested interests’. The last word on Robert Maxwell’s business legacy to his children would have been very different had the obituary appeared a few weeks later. ‘The war interrupted [Alan] Turing’s mathematical career’ is all that is to be said about the man who helped crack the Enigma code, which was still a secret in 1954. Turing is but one example of the old Times’s reticence to lift the veil on private lives.

The best are among the most recent. Wonderful and fully rounded assessments are provided of Harold Wilson, Diana, Princess of Wales and Yassir Arafat. Perhaps the masterpiece in the collection is the obit of Ronald Reagan. The opening sentence sets the scene: ‘Ronald Reagan manifestly lived the American dream in which he so fervently believed.’ His significance is analysed. Some interesting character traits are noted: ‘He was a friendly man who had practically no close friends except his wife, Nancy.’ A full chronology of his career follows, its highs and lows brought to the fore. Anyone wanting to learn the craft of obituary writing — or even how to summarise a mass of information adeptly — should study this work of art.

Great Lives is one of the publishing treasures of the year. There is something to admire, delight, inform and take issue with on every page. Here is a tantalising glimpse from the entry for the world’s bestselling author, Barbara Cartland:

She routinely turned out more than 20 novels a year, in a writing career that began in 1923. A few titles from a typical year, 1977, suggest the repetitive, mechanical nature of the exercise: Conquered by Love, The Dragon and the Pearl, The Magic of Love, The Wild Unwilling Wife, Love Locked In, Rhapsody of Love, and Look, Listen and Love. In her fiction there was, as another title from that year proclaimed, No Escape from Love.

Graham Stewart’s latest book, The History of the Times: The Murdoch Years, is published this month (HarperCollins, £30).

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