My warm thanks to Richard Lamb for his introduction, and to him and Richard Moore, my gratitude for reading through my manuscript and making valuable suggestions. My thanks also to Eric Avebury, Asa Briggs, Clement Freud, Russell Johnston and Cyril Smith for their commentaries; to Trevor Jones, Jenny Day, Liz Cocks, Yvonne Keer and Laura Wallace, for their help; to the British Library at Colindale, for their efficient and courteous assistance; to my editor, Duncan Brack, and lain Dale and John Simmons at my publishers, Politico’s, who, whilst highly professional, have been a delight to work with; to Judy Young, who has patiently typed each page of the book and supplemented my recollections with her own; and to son Rupert, some of whose photographs are included and whose idea it was that I should draw extensively on the photographs in my collection.
Above all, to Marion, who has been a constant source of advice and inspiration – which comes as no surprise.
Jeremy Thorpe
March 1999