Garvin of the Observer

Originally published in 1985. One of the most distinguished editors in the history of British journalism, J. L. Garvin created the Sunday newspaper as we now know it. His career at the Observer spanned the golden age of the British press when newspapers had a powerful influence on political affairs. Like the other great editors of the first half of the twentieth century Garvin clashed with his proprietors. He liked to contrast 'Responsible Editorship' with 'Austensible Editorship' where the editor took his political orders from the owners. He passionately believed that the readers of any newspaper worth buying had a right to know what the editor himself thought about any important matter. This was the essence of an implied contract, the basis of trust between paper and the reader. It was Garvin's energy and integrity which transformed the Observer into a major force in the British press so that long before his death most respectable middle class families would have hesitated to admit they had not seen the Observer. This first substantial biography of Garvin of the Observer will be of interest to all students of modern political history and of the press in contemporary society.

David Ayerst

Preface. Introduction: Garvin in His Time Part 1: Jim Garvin till Fifty, 1868-1918 Book 1: North Country Apprenticeship, 1868-1899 1. An Irish Boy on Merseyside, 1868-1884 2. Tammany Teenager, 1884-1889 3. Garvin Finds a Guru, 1889-1899 4. Marriage, 1894 5. London Bound, 1893-1899 Book 2: Empire Day in Fleet Street, 1899-1906 6. His Master's voice, 1899-1904 7. What Calchas Foresaw, 1899-1902 8. Indian Interlude, 1902-1903 9. Chamberlain's Man, 1903-1904 10. Garvin's Outlook, 1904-1906 Book 3: The Northcliffe Years, 1907-1911 11. Northcliffe's Partner, 1907-1911 12. Greville Place, 1908-1922 13. The Defence of Britain, 1908-1911 14. The Lords and the Budget, 1909 15. A Truce of God, 1910 16. The Battle Resumed, 1910 17. Exit Northcliffe, 1910-1911 Book 4: Garvin and the Astors, 1911-1914 18. Enter the Astors, 1911 19. Politics in No Man's Land, 1911 20. Garvin's Tandem, 1912-1914 21. The Covenanter, 1912-1914 Book 5: The First World War: Father and Son, 1914-1918 22. The Coming of War, 1914-1915 23. The Flowers of the Forest, July 1915-July 1916 24. De Profundis, 1916-1918 Part 2: 'Garve', 1919-1947 Book 6: A Second Spring, 1919-1927 25. Peace and Dragon's Teeth, 1919 26. The Second Mrs Garvin, 1919-1921 27. The Coming of Barrington-Ward, 1919 28. Garvin and Lloyd George, 1922 29. Gregories, 1921-1947 30. The Loss of Barrington-Ward, 1925-1927 Book 7: Appearance and Reality, 1929-1938 31. High Water, 1929-1930 32. The Tide Turns, 1928-1933 33. The Chamberlain Torso, 1932-1938 Book 8: A Diversity of Dictators, 1933-1947 34. Calchas Redivivus, 1933-1935 35. The Mountains of Rasselas, 1935-1936 36. Odd Dictator Out, 1936-1940 37. 'The Nonesuch State', 1936-1939 38. Shipwreck, 1939-1942 39. Afterglow, 1942-1947