Hitch and Black?? Worlds Collide!

If you look at my facebook, you'll find that I'm a member of the Conrad Black Fan Club and the Christopher Hitchens Fan Club.  My reasoning for both is similar. I've been wildly amused by their newspaper columns. In both cases it is their arrogant, damn the torpedoes, in your face linguistic cerebry that gets me. Put another way, I don't really care what they're saying, so much as how deliciously they say it.  Imagine my surprise, then, at finding this on Slate.  Conrad and Hitch had a feud. Conrad hated Hitch and tried to make sure he'd 'neva wook in dis town aghen' or something.  Anyway, you'll enjoy this little eulofy by Hitchens, in which, he, like so many others, blames Barbara Amiel-Black for Lord Crossharbour's downfall.

 

For the record, I don't blame her for the excesses. I think if Conrad had ever said, "Look Babs, I'm rich but I'm not THAT rich so...you know... let's cool it" the marriage wouldn't have exploded. I think there was willful blindness going on. Lots of it. Conrad needed to feel invincible and she could hardly tell him he wasn't without bruising his extraordinarily famous pride so she assumed that what he spent he could afford to spend. And I'm pretty sure he assured her of exactly that.  

 

Anyway, regardless of that, the blame on Amiel will continue. Fortunately, though, when Conrad goes to prison I know exactly who Babs can start to hang out with. They'll have lots to talk about.