John Maynard Keynes Volume One: Hopes Betrayed 1883 – 1920
John Maynard Keynes Volume One: Hopes Betrayed 1883 – 1920 By Robert Skidelsky Summarized by Jay Lotz somebookblog.wordpress.com SomeBookBlog Chapter One: Dynastic Origins John Neville Keynes, Maynard’s father, was born on August 31, 1852. His father, Maynard’s grandfather, John Keynes, born in 1805, was a successful, self-made businessman who made his fortune on flowers. John Keynes’s nurseries were in Salisbury, where Neville lived with his father, mother, and aunt and grandmother from his father’s side. The family was Nonconformist—that is, Protestants who did conform to the practices established by the Church of England—and John Keynes believed his success was due to his religious discipline. A man without education, he recognized Neville’s intelligence, and set him off on a path to escape the trades through education, paying £70 per year to send Neville to Amersham Hall in 1864. Neville made good marks in classics, but showed particular ability for mathematics. He was awarded a Gilchrist scholarship to University College, London, in 1869. Apart from his studies, Neville devoted considerable time to hobbies, including chess, collecting stamps, and going to the theater. Neville obtained his B.A. in 1871. In June 1872, Neville won the first mathematical scholarship to Pembroke College, a constituent of Cambridge University. Soon after arriving, however, Neville realized he was in the wrong subject. By October of that year, Neville was writing his parents, asking permission to leave Cambridge. A man given to anxiety, and always beset by headaches and toothaches, Neville’s nerves seemed to be getting the better of him.
[Show full text]