In good company : Some personal recollections of Swinburne, Lord Roberts, Watts-Dunton, Oscar Wilde Edward Whymper, S. J. Stone, Stephen Phillips

A warm, conversational memoir unfolds as the author revisits the friendships that shaped his life among some of the most celebrated figures of the late‑Victorian era. Written with a blend of affection and candor, the recollections feel like intimate conversations over tea, offering listeners a glimpse into the private worlds of people whose public personas have become legend.

Through vivid sketches of the flamboyant poet Swinburne, the stoic military leader Lord Roberts, the dazzling wit of Oscar Wilde, the daring alpinist Edward Whymper, and the introspective poet Stephen Phillips, the narrator captures both their brilliance and their human quirks. Anecdotes reveal Swinburne’s restless creativity, Roberts’s quiet dignity, Wilde’s razor‑sharp humor, Whymper’s adventurous spirit, and Phillips’s surprising joviality beneath a solemn exterior. Listeners are invited to share in these cherished memories, experiencing the charm of an era seen through the eyes of a devoted, ever‑curious friend.