Lords of Fleet Street: The Harmsworth Dynasty

The Harmsworth family, starting with Lord Northcliffe (1865 - 1922), is the greatest and most influential press dynasty this country - and possibly the world - has known. The dynasty, still continuing under Vere, the third Lord Rothermere, has had by far the greatest impact on the shape of the press today of all the great press families. The Harmsworths, especially Northcliffe, are big, bold characters, enormously rich and with a gift for flamboyant use of their wealth. Much more important, though, is the way they used their influence on public opinion to steer the country's political and social life. 'Public opinion' was a force that the Harmsworths harnessed before anyone else, and they quickly understood how to use it as a political tool. Richard Bourne has had access to a wide range of new material. His book is constructed as four biographies. Together, they make up the central story of the popular press in this country. The Harmsworths invented the popular press and were the first great press barons. Their story has particular relevance now, with the power of the new barons once again a major political issue.