Black Diamonds

November 1, 2014
TV producer and director Bailey (The Secret Rooms: A True Gothic Mystery, 2012) uses the downfall of the Fitzwilliam family to examine the history of the coal industry in England.The author's remarkable story primarily covers the time of the seventh Earl of Fitzwilliam, who inherited the title in 1902. She shows how class differences and the effect of two wars, strikes and the final blow of the postwar Labour government brought down many of the aristocracy. The Fitzwilliams lived at Wentworth House, one of England's largest privately owned homes. Bailey uses accounts of the miners and their families to describe both the lives of the wealthy Fitzwilliam family and those of the poverty-stricken laborers. Low pay and long working days were hard enough, but when times were bad, the corporate mine owners cut pay and shortened the work week. After World War I, German reparations included providing free coal to the European victors, undercutting the English market and halving the earnings of the miners. The Fitzwilliams, especially the seventh Earl and his wife, were particularly well-liked, as they continued a feudal tradition of caring for their workers. "Lordie," as he was known, insisted on maintaining the latest safety measures. During the long coal strike of 1926, they fed all the local children, organized games, created work on their other estates and even provided coal. The ruin of Britain's stately homes and the end of coal as a primary industry were due to the steam engine, better transport and refrigeration, as well as the increase in inheritance taxes from 15 to 50 percent. Wartime nationalization of the mines and sequestration of estates served as the final blows. Gossipy bits-e.g., questioned legitimacy, grand entertainments and "Kick" Kennedy's marriage to the Devonshire heir and subsequent affair with the ninth Earl-keep the reading lively. The real value of this work is in the recounting of the ends of two classes, the lower and the very upper.

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Starred review from December 1, 2014

Intriguing and thoroughly researched, Bailey's (The Secret Rooms) biography details the often tumultuous past of England's Wentworth House and its dysfunctional occupants. The Fitzwilliams, who made their wealth through coal mining, boast the dramatic makings of an aristocratic family: pregnancy out of wedlock, suspicion of true legitimacy, court cases over inheritances, and even an entanglement with the ill-fated Kennedys. Class tensions are highlighted through several accounts of coal miners, from their daily grind to the failed strike in 1926. What makes Bailey's findings even more impressive is that much of the Fitzwilliams' documents were intentionally destroyed in a fire, raising further interest in what this family was trying to hide. With a captivating narrative and only a few instances of dry retelling, the text reads like an exciting period drama and readers will be racing to get to the end in order to unravel the secrets and eventual collapse of the elusive Fitzwilliams. VERDICT While this will be an easy sell to Downton Abbey fanatics, this fascinating history is highly recommended to anyone who loves family gossip and mystery.--Kate DiGirolomo, Library Journal

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