Constantine FitzGibbon (1919–1983)
Author of The Life of Dylan Thomas
About the Author
Works by Constantine FitzGibbon
London's burning (Ballantine's illustrated history of World War II. Battle book, no. 17) (1970) 72 copies
The fair game 2 copies
Það gerist aldrei hér? 1 copy
Operation Valkyrie 1 copy
Ferien 1 copy
The Iron Hoop 1 copy
Miss Finnigans Fault 1 copy
Associated Works
Death Dealer: The Memoirs of the SS Kommandant at Auschwitz (0204) — Translator, some editions — 744 copies, 19 reviews
On the Firing Line: The Public Life of Our Public Figures (1989) — Contributor — 126 copies, 1 review
Children of the Ashes: The People of Hiroshima, the Story of a Rebirth (1985) — Translator, some editions — 55 copies, 1 review
A land bewitched; Mexico in the shadow of the centuries — Translator, some editions — 5 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Fitzgibbon, Robert Louis Constantine Lee-Dillon
- Birthdate
- 1919-06-08
- Date of death
- 1983-03-25
- Gender
- male
- Education
- The Sorbonne, Paris, France
University of Oxford (Exeter College)
Wellington College, Berkshire, England, UK
University of Munich, Germany - Occupations
- historian
novelist
translator - Organizations
- British Army (WWII)
US Army (WWII) - Awards and honors
- Guggenheim Fellowship
Honorary Fellow, Royal Society of Literature - Relationships
- Fitzgibbon, Theodora (1st wife, divorced)
- Nationality
- USA (birth)
Ireland - Birthplace
- Lenox, Massachusetts, USA
- Places of residence
- Killiney, County Dublin, Ireland
Paris, France
Munich, Bavaria, Germany
Sacombs Ash, Hertfordshire, England, UK
Dublin, Ireland - Place of death
- Dublin, Ireland
Members
Reviews
I wish I could remember how I heard of 'When The Kissing Had To Stop'. I thought it was in this Vulture list of 100 dystopian novels, but apparently not. Perhaps I just saw the title and author’s name, both of which have a wonderful ponderous absurdity, and instantly decided I had to read it? It’s hard to keep track of these things. In any case, this is an alternative history, first published in 1960, in which a nuclear disarmament campaign and Labour electoral victory lead to the show more Soviets taking over Britain. It was written by a somewhat eccentric aristocrat with a intermittently histrionic warning tone. Although it could easily have been tediously reactionary alarmist nonsense, this is not the case. I found it to be a fast-paced and exciting thriller, which juggled many characters adeptly and captured the essentially chaotic nature of international affairs.
I wasn’t necessarily convinced by the Soviet takeover conceit, having the convenience of nearly sixty years hindsight, although I enjoyed watching it play out. (That said, Brexit is making me doubt that any political development is too fucking stupid to be plausible these days.) FitzGibbon has a definite insight into the idiosyncrasies and malaise of British politics and culture. His politicians are a convincing lot, varying considerably in competence, sense, and adherence to principles. He wittily captures the sordidness of spying and the constitutional fudge surrounding the monarchy. Moreover, the narrative shows how the British media and electorate can be systematically manipulated. It also foresees that Russia would surreptitiously intervene in British politics, obviously without the detail that this would happen via social media. Thus there's still relevance to be found here, more so than would have been the case five years ago. For instance:
It’s depressing to see the totally laudable push for nuclear disarmament being warped into the imposition of a police state, however the narrative is compelling because this never feels inevitable. The progression of events is deliberately complicated, with no single hero or even group of them. Motives are mixed; characters waver between selfishness, altruism, confusion, political conviction, love, self-preservation, ignorance, and resentment. The untidy overlap between personal, professional, and political relationships is cleverly woven throughout. The only character I felt the author was truly unfair to was Antonia, a clever and unattractive woman created by a man who evidently considered this the worst possible combination of female traits. She is a cruel caricature; the gay guy in the gulag gets much more sympathetic treatment. Despite this, ‘When The Kissing Had To Stop’ is a great deal more entertaining than it has any business being. I was half expecting another [b:The Old Men at the Zoo|1654440|The Old Men at the Zoo|Angus Wilson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1438545564s/1654440.jpg|1649057]-esque disappointment, only to find quite the opposite. show less
I wasn’t necessarily convinced by the Soviet takeover conceit, having the convenience of nearly sixty years hindsight, although I enjoyed watching it play out. (That said, Brexit is making me doubt that any political development is too fucking stupid to be plausible these days.) FitzGibbon has a definite insight into the idiosyncrasies and malaise of British politics and culture. His politicians are a convincing lot, varying considerably in competence, sense, and adherence to principles. He wittily captures the sordidness of spying and the constitutional fudge surrounding the monarchy. Moreover, the narrative shows how the British media and electorate can be systematically manipulated. It also foresees that Russia would surreptitiously intervene in British politics, obviously without the detail that this would happen via social media. Thus there's still relevance to be found here, more so than would have been the case five years ago. For instance:
”After all, if we can no longer be a world power capable of enforcing our will, it is surely best that we should be a happy, small power, prosperous and at peace with all, a second Switzerland?”
“If that were the government’s policy, I should never have resigned, sir. But I do not believe it is. In the first place, for economic, geographical, and strategic reasons this country can never be a second Switzerland; in the second, Switzerland is, for its size, the most highly armed state in Europe, with the most efficient defence forces. I quite agree that it would be the height of folly for this country to attempt to act today as though it still had the part to play in world affairs that it had a century ago. On the other hand, the alternative to being a great power is not simply to abdicate all power altogether. But that is what they have done, and are doing.”
“That is what the electorate chose, only some three months ago.”
“The electorate were deceived, chiefly by playing on the emotion of fear.”
It’s depressing to see the totally laudable push for nuclear disarmament being warped into the imposition of a police state, however the narrative is compelling because this never feels inevitable. The progression of events is deliberately complicated, with no single hero or even group of them. Motives are mixed; characters waver between selfishness, altruism, confusion, political conviction, love, self-preservation, ignorance, and resentment. The untidy overlap between personal, professional, and political relationships is cleverly woven throughout. The only character I felt the author was truly unfair to was Antonia, a clever and unattractive woman created by a man who evidently considered this the worst possible combination of female traits. She is a cruel caricature; the gay guy in the gulag gets much more sympathetic treatment. Despite this, ‘When The Kissing Had To Stop’ is a great deal more entertaining than it has any business being. I was half expecting another [b:The Old Men at the Zoo|1654440|The Old Men at the Zoo|Angus Wilson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1438545564s/1654440.jpg|1649057]-esque disappointment, only to find quite the opposite. show less
As a novel it is a dud. Cardboard characters, little to recommend it stylistically, poor plotting and an ending that seems tacked on. However as an AH technothriller it does an excellent job of showing the high period of the Cold War. It is a projection of late Stalinist onto the late 50's and quite readable for those who like the genre. So it is worth it if the subgenres [20th century AH, Cold War, technothriller] are your bag. Otherwise its a lame 1 star because the system does not allow a show more zero rating. show less
Interesting and accessible biography of Thomas' life, full of details only a close friend could provide. Details his tempestuous and passionate life. Unfortunately does not discuss his poetry too much, but still a good biography nonetheless.
Amid an anti-nuclear left wing uprising and irresponsible shift to complete demilitarization led by an irresponsible and self-possessed, naive leader, England falls under control of the USSR.
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Statistics
- Works
- 40
- Also by
- 11
- Members
- 590
- Popularity
- #42,529
- Rating
- 3.7
- Reviews
- 9
- ISBNs
- 61
- Languages
- 5
- Favorited
- 1