The Speedicut Papers Book 2 (1848–1857)

About the Book

Book 2 of The Speedicut Papers continues the first hand account of the life, loves and adventures of Jasper Speedicut: charmer, sexual libertine and reluctant hero. It is also a unique account of events in the British Empire and beyond, comprising a series of linked adventures and anecdotes which, when taken together, comprise a fascinating insight into many of the half-remembered or wholly-forgotten events of the second half of the 19th century. “It is a matter of considerable regret to me that The Speedicut Papers were not available to me when I wrote my History of the English Speaking Peoples.” Sir Winston Churchill “This book contains the only lucid explanation of the Schleswig-Holstein question ... to which I’ve completely forgotten the answer.” Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston “I was delighted to discover that, like me, Speedicut has committed every sin in the Decalogue.” Sir Richard Burton “Having read this remarkable narrative I would swim the Hellespont to meet the man who wrote it.” George, 6th Baron Byron “Speedicut’s adventures in Berlin have given me an idea for a book.” Bram Stoker

About the Author

After serving time at Oxford University and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Christopher Joll spent his formative years as an officer in The Life Guards, an experience from which he has never really recovered. On leaving the Army, Joll worked first in investment banking, but the boredom of City life led him to switch careers and become an arms salesman. After ten years of dealing with tin pot dictators in faraway countries, he moved - perhaps appropriately - into public relations where, in this new incarnation, he had to deal with dictators of an altogether different type. From his earliest days, Joll has written articles, features, short stories and reportage. One such piece of writing led to an early brush with notoriety when an article he had penned anonymously in 1974 for a political journal ended up as front page national news and resulted in a Ministerial inquiry. In 2012 Joll wrote the text for Uniquely British: A Year in the Life of the Household Cavalry, an illustrated account of the Household Cavalry from the Royal Wedding to the Diamond Jubilee, and in 2018 he published The Spoils of War. His yet to be published memoires, Anecdotal Evidence, promises to cause considerable consternation in certain quarters should it ever appear in print. Since leaving the Army in 1975, Joll has been involved in devising and managing charity fund-raising events. This interest started in 1977 with The Silver Jubilee Royal Gifts Exhibition at St James’s Palace and The Royal Cartoons Exhibition at the Press Club. In subsequent years, he co-produced ‘José Carreras & Friends’, a one-night Royal Gala Concert at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane; ‘Serenade for a Princess’, a Royal Gala Concert at the Banqueting House, Whitehall; and ‘Concert for a Prince’, a Royal Gala Concert staged at Windsor Castle (the first such event to be held there following the post-fire restoration). More recently, Joll has focused on devising, writing, directing and sometimes producing events primarily for military charities. These include in various different roles the Household Cavalry Pageant (2007); the Chelsea Pageant (2008); the Diamond Jubilee Parade in the Park (2012); the British Military Tournament (2010-2013); the Gurkha Bicentenary Pageant (2015); the Waterloo Bicentenary National Service of Commemoration & Parade at St Paul’s Cathedral (2015); the Shakespeare 400 Memorial Concert (2016); The Patron’s Lunch (2016), the official London event to mark The Queen’s 90th Birthday and The Great War Symphony to be premiered in 2018 at the Royal Albert Hall. In 2017, Joll was appointed Regimental Historian of the Household Cavalry.