Trying to Please

Summary

“Poor old baby, he’s only trying to please,” his nanny said—and his life has reflected an appetite for life, enlivened by a sense of theater. John Julius Norwich’s equally famous parents frequently entertained everyone of note in Britain, France, or the United States, including their good friend Winston Churchill, H.G. Wells, and Hilaire Belloc, who sang ancient French songs in an old, cracked voice.

Trying to Please is an engaging and often amusing memoir that breathes fresh life into the worlds he describes. From a walking tour of the monasteries on Mt. Athos to a camel trek across the Sahara, the book shows how his passions—for history, for travel, for music—have combined with simpler pleasures like friendship and a close family. His recollections evoke a world now extinct, such as a Beirut of cloudless sunshine and moonlit dinners where eleven different religions peacefully coexisted.

Norwich has led a remarkable life, and his autobiography is thoroughly enjoyable read—just the thing to keep at one’s bedside for a moment of unalloyed pleasure at the end of the day.

About the Author

John Julius Norwich (b. 1929) served in the British Foreign Service in Lebanon and the former Yugoslavia, and as a member of the British delegation to the Disarmament Conference in Geneva. His books include The Architecture of Southern England, Byzantium (3 vols.), Shakespeare’s Kings: the Great Plays and the History of England in the Middle Ages: 1337–1485, Christmas Crackers, and A History of Venice, which is considered the standard English work on the subject. Besides being a prolific writer, he is also an editor, and a popular U.K. radio and television personality. He lives in London.