1998 Articles by Amanda Foreman

The Daily Telegraph: December 1998
Scheme, scheme, scheme
As the Cranborne plot continues to unravel, Amanda Foreman, the acclaimed author of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, illuminates the Cecils, a family that has always had a cunning plan

The 4th Earl of Salisbury was a sad, pathetic excuse of a man. Fat, slothful and dull-witted, he inherited precious little from his Cecil forebears except, maybe, for the title and the family sense of timing. However...................................
The Express: November 1998
The Georgians: a true age of sexual discovery
The BBC's adaptation of Vanity Fair may seem a little too sexy for some but all those bosoms and thighs are absolutely on target. In terms of raw sexuality, the Georgians are more than a match for the sophisticated post-modern Nineties. Anyone who saw the skin-tight breeches in ITV's Hornblower can understand why the lack of birth control in the 18th century had very little impact on public morals. It was all there, out in the open, so to speak.

Georgian men and women not only enjoyed a robust attitude towards sex, they positively..................................
Tatler: October 1998
Is Diana`s reputation now at the mercy of time?
The British are fickle about the reputations of great women. Take Nell Gwynne: she was the inspiration behind Charles II founding the Chelsea Hospital, but we only remember her as his mistress. And what of Diana? Amanda Foreman asks whether, in 25 years' time it will be the hemlines rather than the humanitarian causes that we remember, the love affairs rather than the lifelong altruism.

The evil that men do lives after them. Mark Antony observes in Julius Caesar, "The good is oft interred with their bones." Women should be so lucky. Few enjoy any posthumous reputation at all and even when they do it is often a travesty. Death seems to have become the last bastion of male chauvinism. It may seem unimaginable now..................................
Harpers & Queen: September 1998
The Bill gives way to Monty Python
I would have joined the police force, only I run slower than Mrs Merton and have all the authority of Barbie.

I cannot tell my left from my right, and when frightened I lose control of my critical faculties. Long ago, I accepted it would be better for everyone if I stayed at home, out of harm's way.

I cannot imagine what inducements were offered to Colindale Police Station to let me accompany their night patrol. Small wonder that they asked me to sign an indemnity form before setting off.

The area squad car is the Batmobile of the fleet the front line of attack, the first response to any 999 call. We leave the station at.................................
The Spectator: May 1998
Diary
Derek Draper who gave us Blair's One Hundred Days appeared on one of those chat shows this week and said it was a myth that referendums mean maximum democracy. 'The people's selectorate' was how he categorised the small number who actually go out and vote. He is absolutely right, of course. Perhaps he would consider going on record to debunk a few more myths, such as that feminists berate men who open doors for them, eating chocolate standing up doesn't count as caloric intake, and surfing the Net is the fastest way to obtain information. The www as in http://www really stands for world-wide wait.

The Internet may be agonisingly slow at times, but it hasn't deterred me from wasting large chunks of the day in search of new web sites. It's how I keep up with current trends. According to a glossary of the new Nineties office-speak which arrived from New York..............................

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