The title of this book tells us that this is the work of a devotee. And so it is.
The subtitle suggests why Alexander Haydon’s book is so interesting, for it is based on interviews conducted with Mgr Alfred Gilbey, the legendary Cambridge chaplain, towards the end of his life – he died in 1998 at the ripe age of 97. The author tells us he thought there would be just one interview, but Mgr Gilbey summoned him back at least ten times to carry the conversation further.
Haydon explains why it seemed like a good idea: “When I first requested an interview with Alfred, this superannuated cleric (then 94) struck me as a wonderful subject for interrogation. As the highest of high Tory criticism of liberal humanist democracy, a keen follower of beagles, a stubborn upholder of all-male traditions, who... had been known to remark that the Spanish seemed very happy under Franco, as a Christian priest living in a socially exclusive club and as one enjoying the privilege of continuing to say the old Latin rite of Mass, he seemed... a fascinating monster of political incorrectness and therefore very good copy.”
