Knox Brothers

The Knox Brothers by Penelope Fitzgerald, 270 pages

The four sons of Edmund Arbuthnott Knox, Anglican Bishop of Manchester, and his first wife Ellen Penelope French, daughter of Thomas Valpy French, Anglican Bishop of Lahore, were all extraordinary.  Edmund, the eldest, was the editor of the celebrated humor magazine Punch for 17 years.  Dillwyn was a classicist who helped decrypt the Zimmermann telegram in World War I and break the Enigma code in World War II.  Wilfred became an Anglican priest of some distinction, theologically conservative but socially radical.  Ronald abandoned a promising career in the Church of England to become a Catholic, and became famous not only as a scholar, but also as a mystery writer and founding member of the Detection Club.

Fitzgerald, herself a successful novelist, has a unique insight into the lives of these men as the daughter of Edmund.  The rare combination of intimacy and literary talent would make this book a delightful read even if the subjects were not as interesting as they are, and if they had not had such interesting friends as John Maynard Keynes and Evelyn Waugh.  Fitzgerald captures perfectly what all the brothers, despite their profound differences, shared - a mutual love and respect, and an unwavering commitment to the truth.