Haslemere author John Leston speaks about his new book (published 8 May 2025) – the never-told-before history of WWI’s home front, when a party truce opened up 29 parliamentary by-elections to a hotchpotch of idealists, single-issue fanatics, failing politicians and chancers.

In a light-hearted but insightful review, John’s assessment of the politics of these elections is leavened by remarkable and amusing anecdotes. His cast of characters includes a man who went on to defeat Churchill; the person who obtained a reader’s ticket at the British Library for Lenin and the dog owner who defined the breed characteristics of the Airedale Terrier.  Former Shulbrede Priory resident, Arthur Ponsonby, also receives an honourable mention.