Alec: The Father I Barely Knew

Alec: The Father I Barely Knew by Malcolm Alexander is a moving, meticulously researched memoir and biography tracing the life of a remarkable but enigmatic figure – Frederick Percival Jarrett Alexander, known as “Alec”, as viewed through the eyes of a son seeking connection, understanding, and closure.

Malcolm Alexander’s father, Alec, died when Malcolm was eight years old, leaving huge gaps and unanswered questions in the author’s childhood. Decades later, a chance comment by his mother set Malcolm on an unexpected journey, working through old family secrets, distant connections, and the evolving moral landscape of 20th-century Britain. What began as an intensely personal quest became a broader investigation into family, memory, and the cultural forces shaping identity.

The narrative traces Alec’s trajectory from a disrupted Victorian childhood through to remarkable achievements in the heart of Edwardian London’s financial world. Alec successfully floated a major insurance company on the London Stock Exchange shortly after the First World War, only to have his high-flying career derailed by one of the era’s most notorious financial scandals. Afterwards, he reinvented himself as a hotelier on the English south coast, becoming a respected civic leader in Worthing and later contending with the personal and social upheavals of depression, war, and changing times.

Alexander’s account is unflinching in its exploration of family secrets and “skeletons in the cupboard”. Alec’s complex private life – marked by a long-hidden first marriage, a large age gap with his second partner, issues of illegitimacy, and the pain of family separations – mirrors the untold stories in many families, handled with honesty and compassion. The narrative expands to reveal the fates of siblings, half-siblings, and earlier generations, uncovering waves of emigration, social aspiration, resilience, and love.

Woven throughout is the story of Britain itself, from the optimism of the post-World War I boom and the class mobility of the Edwardian era, through to the trauma and social change of the interwar years, World War II, and the postwar welfare state. The book is enriched with evocative details of everyday life, from caravan holidays and schooldays to the rituals of Freemasonry and the grandeur of Livery dinners. Alexander vividly recreates the emotional texture of the times, and the book includes photographs, letters, and maps that further bring the story to life.

Alec: The Father I Barely Knew is both a moving memoir and a masterclass in social history, offering honesty, empathy, and wisdom for anyone interested in family, generational legacy, and the quest to understand those who came before us. It will appeal to readers of biography, memoir, modern British history, and those curious about how the past shapes our sense of self. As Trevor Thamsanqa Tutu writes in the book’s Foreword: “Malcolm’s book is a journey―one inviting us to see the world through his unique lens. It challenges us to question assumptions and reflect deeply on our lives.”