The Right Book Club was an English book club founded in 1937 by Christina and William Foyle to counter the influential

Left Book Club The Left Book Club is a publishing group that exerted a strong left-wing influence in Great Britain, during its initial run, from 1936 to 1948. It was relaunched in 2015 by Jan Woolf and Neil Faulkner, in collaboration with Pluto Press. Pionee ...

, established in 1936 by

Victor Gollancz Sir Victor Gollancz (; 9 April 1893 – 8 February 1967) was a British publisher and humanitarian. Gollancz was known as a supporter of left-wing politics. His loyalties shifted between liberalism and communism; he defined himself as a Christian ...

Origins and character

In May 1936, the Left Book Club had been established, and towards the end of 1936 a group of “neo-Tories” mooted the idea of a right-wing book club. Christina Foyle and her father William Foyle undertook to organize it, and the Club was launched at a luncheon at the

Grosvenor House Hotel ] JW Marriott Grosvenor House London, formerly the Grosvenor House Hotel, is a luxury hotel that opened in 1929 in the Mayfair area of London, England. Across from Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park, the hotel is built on the former site of the 19th ...

in April 1937, with John Baird, 1st Viscount Stonehaven, the recently retired

chairman of the Conservative Party The chairman of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom is responsible for party administration and overseeing the Conservative Campaign Headquarters, formerly Conservative Central Office. When the Conservative Party (UK), Conservatives are ...

, presiding.Bernhard Dietz, ''Neo-Tories: The Revolt of British Conservatives against Democracy and Political Modernity (1929-1939)'' (London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2018)
p. 108
/ref> The Right Book Club published one book every month, occasionally acting as the first publisher, but more often reprinting a recent new title from a mainstream publisher. Its members received a monthly magazine, and meetings with authors were also held. Membership was free, and members committed themselves to buying the monthly book, which cost 2s 6d ( half a crown). The first book appeared in June 1937. Although one of its early publications was by an American, Fred Beal, who insisted that in bearing witness to the Soviet-induced famine in Ukraine he remained to his socialist convictions,

Arthur Bryant Sir Arthur Wynne Morgan Bryant, (18 February 1899 – 22 January 1985) was an English historian, columnist for ''The Illustrated London News'' and man of affairs. His books included studies of Samuel Pepys, accounts of English eighteenth- and ...

saw the Right Book Club as too radical. He responded by founding a similar monthly book club, the National Book Association, where he intended to be more moderate, and

Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (3 August 186714 December 1947), was a British statesman and Conservative politician who was prominent in the political leadership of the United Kingdom between the world wars. He was prime ministe ...

agreed to be its President. However, in January 1939 Bryant's association published an expurgated translation of Hitler's ''

Mein Kampf (; ) is a 1925 Autobiography, autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The book outlines many of Political views of Adolf Hitler, Hitler's political beliefs, his political ideology and future plans for Nazi Germany, Ge ...

''. Baldwin resigned in protest, and this proved to be the last book the NBA published. By 1939, the Right Book Club claimed 20,000 subscribers, in comparison with some 50,000 members of the Left Book Club and 5,000 of the National Book Association. On 3 November 1939, the humorist A. G. Macdonell replied to an invitation from Christina Foyle to join the Club, "I had no idea that there were twenty thousand members of the Right in politics who could read." Whereas all volumes of the Left Book Club had the same appearance, a soft binding coloured solid orange, with plain black lettering, the Right Book Club described its books as "on good quality paper, with attractive STIFF binding and dignified coloured jacket". A commentator has said that this was a subtly English way to distance the two clubs: "The bindings are as stiff as a colonel's upper lip, not limp as a lounge lizard's handshake." In 2022, the critic Clive Bloom claimed that the Right Book Club was "thought up by

Sir Oswald Mosley Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980), was a British aristocrat and politician who rose to fame during the 1920s and 1930s when he, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, turned to fascism. ...

to promote fascism", without providing any source for this claim.

Endorsements

In the club's early days, three notable figures gave endorsements of it.Right Book Club
publishinghistory.com, accessed 22 July 2021 In a posthumous message written shortly before his death,

Austen Chamberlain Sir Joseph Austen Chamberlain (16 October 1863 – 16 March 1937) was a British statesman, son of Joseph Chamberlain and older half-brother of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. He served as a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of ...

, a former Conservative Party leader, commented "I welcome the appearance of the 'Right' Book Club. I have learned to trust the judgment of our people when the truth is made available to them."

George Lloyd, 1st Baron Lloyd George Ambrose Lloyd, 1st Baron Lloyd, (19 September 1879 – 4 February 1941) was a British Conservative politician and colonial administrator who was strongly associated with the " Diehard" wing of the party. From 1937 to 1941, he was chair ...

, a Conservative on the " Diehard" wing of the party, said "I am glad to learn of the popularity and progress of the 'Right' Book Club. A great responsibility as well as an opportunity of doing work of last national importance lies before the Club."

Lord Sempill Lord Sempill (also variously rendered as Semple or Semphill) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in circa 1489 for Sir John Sempill, founder of the collegiate Church of Lochwinnoch. Sempill was killed at the Battle of Flodden ...

, a well-known

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...

, said "The work which you are doing deserves the support of all thinking men and women."

Selection committee

A committee aimed to select one book per month for publication and consisted of Anthony Ludovici, Norman Thwaites, Trevor Blakemore, Collinson Owen, and W. A. Foyle.

Principal authors

The writers of more than one book published by the Right Book Club were:Right Book Club

Open Library Open Library is an online project intended to create "one web page for every book ever published". Created by Aaron Swartz, Brewster Kahle, Alexis Rossi, Anand Chitipothu, and Rebecca Hargrave Malamud, Open Library is a project of the Internet ...

, accessed 25 July 2021 * Bernard Newman, four books *

Quentin Reynolds Quentin James Reynolds (April 11, 1902 – March 17, 1965) was an American journalist and World War II war correspondent. He also played American football for one season in the National Football League (NFL) with the Brooklyn Lions. Early life ...

, three books *

Siegfried Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World ...

, three books *

Edvard Beneš Edvard Beneš (; 28 May 1884 – 3 September 1948) was a Czech politician and statesman who served as the president of Czechoslovakia from 1935 to 1938, and again from 1939 to 1948. During the first six years of his second stint, he led the Czec ...

, three books * W. H. Chamberlin, two books * Ivor Halstead, two books *

Douglas Jerrold Douglas William Jerrold (3 January 18038 June 1857) was an English dramatist and writer. Early life Jerrold's father, Samuel Jerrold, was an actor and lessee of the little theatre of Wilsby near Cranbrook, Kent. In 1807 the family moved to Sh ...

, two books * Viscount Lymington, two books * Charles Petrie, two books * George Sava, two books * Clarence K. Streit, two books *

Arnold Wilson Sir Arnold Talbot Wilson (18 July 1884 – 31 May 1940) was a British soldier, colonial administrator, Conservative politician, writer and editor. Wilson served under Percy Cox, the colonial administrator of Mesopotamia ( Mandatory Iraq) dur ...

, two books * Gerald Kersh, two books *

Henry Williamson Henry William Williamson (1 December 1895 – 13 August 1977) was an English writer who wrote novels concerned with wildlife, English social history, ruralism and the First World War. He was awarded the Hawthornden Prize for literature in 1928 ...

, two books Other authors included Fred Beal,

Clare Hollingworth Clare Hollingworth (10 October 1911 – 10 January 2017) was an English journalist and author. She was the first war correspondent to report the outbreak of World War II, described as "the scoop of the century". As a rookie reporter for ''The ...

Hesketh Pearson Edward Hesketh Gibbons Pearson (20 February 1887 – 9 April 1964) was an English actor, theatre director and writer. He is known mainly for his biographies; they made him the leading British biographer of his time, in terms of commercial succes ...

Ian Hay Major (Honorary Major General) John Hay Beith, Order of the British Empire, CBE Military Cross, MC (17 April 1876 – 22 September 1952), was a British schoolmaster and soldier, but is best remembered as a novelist, playwright, essayist, an ...

Hugh Kingsmill Hugh Kingsmill Lunn (21 November 1889 – 15 May 1949), who dropped his surname for professional purposes, was a versatile British writer and journalist. The writers Arnold Lunn and Brian Lunn were his brothers. Life Hugh Kingsmill Lunn was born ...

Edward Shanks Edward Richard Buxton Shanks (11 June 1892 – 4 May 1953) was an English writer, known as a war poet of World War I, then as an academic and journalist, and literary critic and biographer. He also wrote some science fiction. E. F. Bleiler and R ...

James Bridie James Bridie (3 January 1888 in Glasgow – 29 January 1951 in Edinburgh) was the pseudonym of a Scottish playwright, screenwriter and physician whose real name was Osborne Henry Mavor.Daniel Leary (1982) ''Dictionary of Literary Biography: ...

Arnold Lunn Sir Arnold Henry Moore Lunn (18 April 1888 – 2 June 1974) was a skier, mountaineer and writer. He was knighted for "services to British Skiing and Anglo-Swiss relations" in 1952. His father was a lay Methodist minister, but Lunn was an a ...

Aubrey Jones Aubrey Jones (20 November 1911 – 10 April 2003) was a British Conservative politician who served as Member of Parliament for Birmingham Hall Green from 1950 to 1965. Early life Jones was born in Penydarren. He attended Cyfarthfa Castle Se ...

, R. Welldon Finn, C. E. Vulliamy, Mairin Mitchell, and Harley Williams.

Patrons

The published list of the club’s patrons included:

Publications

1937

* Rex Welldon Finn, ''The English Heritage'' (June 1937) *

Laurence Housman Laurence Housman (; 18 July 1865 – 20 February 1959) was an English playwright, writer and illustrator whose career stretched from the 1890s to the 1950s. He studied art in London and worked largely as an illustrator during the first years o ...

, ''Victoria Regina'' (July 1937) * W. H. Chamberlin, ''A False Utopia'' (August 1937), an inside picture of Communism and Fascism. * C. J. M. Alport, ''Kingdoms in Partnership'' (September 1937), the story of the Imperial Commonwealth. * G. Ward Price, ''I Know These Dictators'' (October 1937), a "close up" of Hitler and Mussolini. * Harold Cardozo, ''The March of a Nation: My Year of Spain's Civil War'' (November 1937), an account of the Spanish War by an English war correspondent *

, ''Georgian Adventure'' (December 1937), an autobiography by the Catholic publisher * Sir Charles Petrie, ''Lords of the Inland Sea: A Study of the Mediterranean Powers'' (1937)

1938

* Fred E. Beal, ''Word from Nowhere'' (January 1938), a disillusioned American communist bears witness to labour conditions and to famine in the Soviet Union. * Sir Charles Petrie, ''The Chamberlain Tradition'' (February 1938) about Joseph, Austen, and Neville Chamberlain * W. H. Chamberlin, ''Japan Over Asia'' (March 1938), an interpretation of Japan's foreign policy * Viscount Lymington, ''Famine in England'' (April 1938), the case for a constructive social policy on health and well-being *

William Teeling Sir Luke William Burke Teeling (5 February 1903 – 26 October 1975) was an Irish writer, traveller and a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom. He was known for his enthusiasm for a Channel Tunnel. Background Born on 5 February 190 ...

, ''Why Britain Prospers'' (May 1938), a study of current political and economic conditions * Sir Arnold Wilson, ''Thoughts and Talks'' (June 1938), thoughts of a Member of Parliament * W. S. Shears, ''This England'' (July 1938), a guide to rural England * Eugene Lyons, ''Assignment in Utopia'' (August 1938), a critique of the Soviet Union * Sir Philip Gibbs, ''Ordeal in England'' (September 1938), a commentary on current events * Prince Christopher of Greece, ''Memoirs by H.R.H. Prince Christopher of Greece'' (October 1938) * A. J. Mackenzie, ''Propaganda Boom'' (November 1938) a study of propaganda in totalitarian states * William Foss and Cecil Gerahty, ''Spanish Arena'' (December 1938), an account of the Spanish Civil War

1939

''Walks and Talks Abroad in 1934–36'' (1939) * Count Pückler, translated from the German by Edward Fitzgerald, ''How Strong is Britain?'' (1939) *

Edith Sitwell Dame Edith Louisa Sitwell (7 September 1887 – 9 December 1964) was a British poet and critic and the eldest of the three literary Sitwells. She reacted badly to her eccentric, unloving parents and lived much of her life with her governess ...

, ''Victoria of England'' (July 1939) *

, ''Revolutionary Socialism in Theory and Practice'' (1939) * R. O. G. Urch, ''The Rabbit King of Russia'' (1939) *

, ''The English Genius'' (1939) *Sir Philip Gibbs, ''Across the Frontiers'' (1939)

1940

* "Watchman" (

Vyvyan Adams Samuel Vyvyan Trerice Adams (22 April 1900 – 13 August 1951), known as Vyvyan Adams, was a British Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds West from 1931'' The International Who's Who 1943–44''. 8th ...

), ''Right Honourable Gentlemen'' (1940) * Edvard Benes, ''Democracy: Today and tomorrow'' (1940) * Bernard Newman, ''The Secrets of German Espionage'' (1940) * A. G. Street, ''A Year of My Life'' (1940) * W. G. Krivitsky, ''I Was Stalin's Agent'' (1940) *Vladimir Unishevsky, translated by Violet M. Macdonald, ''Red Pilot: Memoirs of a Soviet Airman'' (1940)

1941

* Ralph Ingersoll, ''Report on England'' (1941) *L. De Jong, ''Holland Fights the Nazis'' (1941) * Eugene Lyons, ''Stalin, Czar of all the Russias'' (1941) * Ivor Halstead, ''Wings of Victory: a tribute to the R.A.F.'' (1941) * Clarence K. Streit, ''Union Now With Britain'' (1941) *

Stephen Leacock Stephen Butler Leacock (30 December 1869 – 28 March 1944) was a Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humourist. Between the years 1915 and 1925, he was the best-known English-speaking humourist in the world. Early life S ...

, ''Our British empire: its structure, its history, its strength'' (1941) * André Simone, ''J'Accuse! The Men Who Betrayed France'' (1941) *Robert Sencourt, ''Winston Churchill'' (1941)

1942

Edward Ardizzone Edward Jeffrey Irving Ardizzone, (16 October 1900 – 8 November 1979), who sometimes signed his work "DIZ", was a British painter, printmaker and war artist, and the author and illustrator of books, many of them for children. For ''Tim All Al ...

, ''Baggage to the Enemy'' (1942), experiences in France and Belgium, illustrated by the author * Mairin Mitchell, ''Back to England: an Account of the Author's Travels on the Continent from 1937 to 1939 and Her Observations on Wartime Conditions in Britain in 1940'' (1942) * Ivor Halstead, ''Heroes of the Atlantic: a tribute to the Merchant Navy'' (1942) *

Storm Jameson Margaret Ethel Storm Jameson (8 January 1891 – 30 September 1986) was an English journalist and author, known for her novels and reviews and for her work as President of English PEN between 1938 and 1944. Life and career Jameson was born in ...

, ''The Fort'' (1942) *

Hermann Rauschning Hermann Adolf Reinhold Rauschning (7 August 1887 – 8 February 1982) was a German politician and author, adherent of the Conservative Revolution movement who briefly joined the Nazi movement before breaking with it. He was the President of the S ...

, ''Make and Break with the Nazis'' (1942) *L. De Jong, ''Holland Fights the Nazis'' (1942) *

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...

, ''My Name is Million'' (1942) *

, ''Don't Think it Hasn't Been Fun'' (1942) *E. S. Bates, ''Soviet Asia: Progress and Problems'' (1942) *Strategicus, ''From Tobruk to Smolensk'' (1942)

1943

* Gerald Kersh, ''The Nine Lives of Bill Nelson'' (1943) * Alicia Street, ''USA, at Work and Play: Depicting the Outlook and Life of the American People'' (1943) *

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, vicomte de Saint-Exupéry (29 June 1900 – 31 July 1944), known simply as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (, , ), was a French writer, poet, journalist and aviator. Born in Lyon to an French nobility, aristocratic ...

, ''

Flight to Arras ''Flight to Arras'' () is a memoir by French author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Written in 1942, it recounts his role in the Armée de l'Air (French Air Force) as pilot of a reconnaissance plane during the Battle of France in 1940. The book conde ...

'' (1943) *

, ''The Weald of Youth'' (1943) *H. A. Sargeaunt, Geoffrey West, ''Grand Strategy'' (1943)

1944

* Robert Henriques, ''Captain Smith and Company'' (1944) *

, ''The Unconquered Isle: Malta G. C.'' (1944) * Gerald Kersh, ''The Dead Look On'' (1944) * Bernard Newman, ''The New Europe'' (1944) *

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as "the greatest artist-craftsma ...

, ''Autobiography'' (1944)

1945

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

, ''Middle East Diary'' (1945) * Viscount Lymington, ''Alternative to Death: the Relationship between Soil, Family, and Community'' (1945) * E. Amy Buller, ''Darkness Over Germany'' (1945) *

, ''The Curtain Rises'' (1945)

1946

*Douglas Dixon, ''Adventure is Never Done'' (1946) *

Alexander Woollcott Alexander Humphreys Woollcott (January 19, 1887 – January 23, 1943) was an American drama critic for The New York Times and the New York Herald, critic and commentator for ''The New Yorker'' magazine, a member of the Algonquin Round Table, an ...

, ''Long, Long Ago'' (1946) * Herbert Hodge, ''A Cockney on Main Street'' (1946) *

, ''The Sun in the Sands'' (1946) *F. E. Baily, ''The Perfect Age'' (1946), about Victorian England *

Lin Yutang Lin Yutang (10 October 1895 – 26 March 1976) was a Chinese inventor, linguist, novelist, philosopher, and translator. One scholar commented that Lin's "particular blend of sophistication and casualness found a wide audience, and he became a ma ...

, ''Between Tears and Laughter'' (1946) * W. L. White, ''Report on the Russians'' (1946)

1947

* Robert S. Arbib Jr., ''Here we are together: the notebook of an American Soldier in Britain'' (1947) *

, ''The Pendulum of Politics'' (1947) *Clifton Reynolds, ''Autobiography'' (1947) *

, ''Siegfried's journey, 1916-1920'' (1947) *Henry Williamson, ''Life in a Devon Village'' (1947) * George Sava, ''They Come By Appointment'' (1947)

1948

* C. E. Vulliamy, ''Ursa Major: a study of Dr. Johnson and his friends'' (1948)''Ursa Major: a study of Dr. Johnson and his friends''
openlibrary.org, accessed 23 July 2021 *John Fischer, ''The Scared Men in the Kremlin'' (1948)

1949

* Charlotte Haldane, ''Truth Will Out'' (1949, autobiography) *

, ''Talking of Dick Whittington'' (1949) * Harley Williams, ''The Healing Touch'' (January 1949), *

Godfrey Winn Godfrey Herbert Winn (15 October 1906 – 19 June 1971) was an English journalist known as a columnist, and also a writer and actor. Born in Kings Norton, Worcestershire, he attended King Edward's School, Birmingham.Viscount Grey of Fallodon, ''The Charm of Birds'' (1950) *

A. J. P. Taylor Alan John Percivale Taylor (25 March 1906 – 7 September 1990) was an English historian who specialised in 19th- and 20th-century European diplomacy. Both a journalist and a broadcaster, he became well known to millions through his telev ...

, ''From Napoleon to Stalin: Comments on European History'' (1950)

Undated

* John Fothergill, ''An Innkeeper's Diary'' (undated) * Kenneth Walker, ''A Doctor Digresses'' (c. 1951)

Notes

{{reflist

External links

Right Book Club
at PublishingHistory.com
Right Book Club

Anti-communist organizations in the United Kingdom Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom Publishing companies established in 1937 Political book publishing companies Book clubs Book series 1937 establishments in the United Kingdom Publishing companies disestablished in 2007