{"product_id":"pen-and-the-sword","title":"Pen and the Sword","description":"\u003cp\u003eDisappointment can be salutary. In the 1955 election Michael Foot surprisingly lost his seat. Until then he had been a journalist, albeit a prolific and influential one. He now had more time on his hands. To both his father, Isaac Foot, and himself Jonathan Swift was a hero. His father, who believed writing to be the supreme vocation, now encouraged him to write a book on Swift. The result was \u003cb\u003eThe Pen and the Sword\u003ci\u003e.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMichael Foot concentrates on the crucial two years of 1710-11. In that time Swift published one of his most devastating polemics \u003ci\u003eThe Conduct of the Allies \u003c\/i\u003ethat tore into the Whig government and the Duke of Marlborough in particular. It is an important moment in English History: the pen and the sword fought a duel, and the pen proved the stronger of the two.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst published in 1957 it was well and widely reviewed. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Enthralling ... a fine piece of historical writing.' \u003ci\u003eSpectator \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'An exciting story excellently narrated ... a lucid guide to one of the most complicated patterns of intrigue and manoeuvre that the eighteenth-century can provide ... intensely dramatic.' Harold Nicolson, \u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Faber \u0026 Faber","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54243586834776,"sku":"9780571248414","price":25.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9780571248414.jpg?v=1777704329","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/pen-and-the-sword","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}