The Complete Henry Root Letters

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Supposedly a wet fish merchant from Fulham, he is an avatar for a lot of the to-the-right-of-Attila-the-Hun, Thatcher-supporting, mildly racist, entitled, liberal-baiting mansplaining that was de rigeur and absolutely unchallenged in the Spectator/Private Eye yachts and casinos circles that Donaldson frequented. He established himself as a central player in the British satire boom of the early 1960s, as co-producer, with Donald Albery, of Beyond the Fringe (1960), and of dramatisations of J.

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The letters aren’t really dated, with the exception of certain BBC television stars and the one to the South African Ambassador. Donaldson lived at 139 Elm Park Mansions on Park Walk, Chelsea, London SW10, from which address all the Root letters were sent.

His heroes were few, but those who were, to Root's mind, "sound" - principally Mrs Thatcher, the Dowager Lady Birdwood and James Anderton, "God's Cop", the self-appointed guardian of Greater Manchester's morals. Not only have so many of the people approached here faded from the memory that one can't quite remember why they were laughable, but some of the attitudes verge on bullying and prejudice in a way that's now well beyond the bounds of acceptability by today's mores. His letters, full of alleged scandals and hanky panky, are taken perfectly seriously by their recipients whose responses are as funny as Root's own rantings.

Back in 1979, people with too much time on their hands could send actual letters to leading politicians, judges and other luminaries of light entertainment, and expect a reply. Donaldson's third marriage, in 1986, was to Cherry Hatrick, who survived him; they separated six months after their marriage. Published in 1980, what would Henry Root of the wet fish emporium make of the A to Z listers of today. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.

It consists of real correspondence between an apparently wealthy and eccentric retired fish-merchant, and many public figures to whom he wrote, requesting support for bizarre right-wing proposals. He completed his National Service in the Royal Navy in the late 1950s, reaching the rank of Sub-Lieutenant. By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions. He was educated at Winchester College (where he first met Julian Mitchell) and Magdalene College, Cambridge.This single volume brings together "The Henry Root Letters" and "The Further Letters of Henry Root". He later remembered that "sex, whether in company or not, has been the only department in life in which I have demanded from anyone taking part the very highest standards of seriousness. In short, he was the British version of Sarah Palin – but people apparently took him seriously (with the exception of Cambridge). Donaldson's ghastly creation wrote outrageous, threatening, scurrilous and outlandish letters to public figures, praising, insulting or attempting to bribe them. Henry Root, who made a fortune in wet fish, spent ten years in correspondence with powerful and famous people across Britain.

When he hits a target full on, or when the target responds with good grace or a sense of humour, it's hilarious, however.a b c "William Donaldson – Womanising satirist and novelist who squandered several fortunes on wild living". The phenomenal success of the Henry Root books, especially the first, enabled Donaldson to resume his earlier chaotic lifestyle, and in the mid-1980s he began using crack cocaine. I love this book and his laugh out style at trying to rankle celebrities and people in the public eye.