Nicholas is the direct descendant of the Bassets, the Godolphins and the Seyntaubins, the families whom he writes about with such conviction. The family seat is now in St Michael’s Mount, a focal point of the book.

After winning a scholarship to Oxford, Nick’s versatile career led him from downtown Soweto to uptown Manhattan, and from a trading floor in London to a trading estate in Redruth. He spent ten years in Cornwall where he had business and farming ventures and stood for Parliament three times, before later serving as MP for Guildford. He is currently Chairman of the Arab British Centre, a charity to promote cultural awareness.

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