Letters from Mark Sykes to his wife Edith

These letters span the period 1907-1911, and are useful for the examination of a contemporary's opinion on politics, political figures and parties, as well as several contemporary incidents. From a political viewpoint, these letters cover parliamentary debates on the Insurance Bill 1911, and also make reference to the Budget of 1909. Mark expressed his opinions on political figures such as George Wyndham, Grey, Asquith, Lloyd George, as well as on the varying political parties. His travels to the East, French South Africa and Spain mention meeting or being in the company of several famous people of the day, such as Hall Caine (novelist), Ernest Kassel (German Jewish financier), Charles Wyndham (actor), and Miss Mary Moore (actress). His travels also offer us his opinion of Spanish culture and French methods of rule and administration in Morocco. He also mentions two interesting incidents, the Woods murder case and the Druce case, which were prevalent topics of conversation in the early 20th century.

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