Keith Feiling

[1] He was noted for his conservative interpretation of the past, showing an empire-oriented ideology in defence of hierarchical authority, paternalism, deference, the monarchy, Church, family, nation, status, and place.

He was born at Elms House, Leatherhead, the son of stockbroker Ernest Feiling and Joan Barbara (née Hawkins).

[2] His mother was the sister of novelist Sir Anthony Hope and a first cousin of Kenneth Grahame, who wrote the classic The Wind in the Willows.

He acknowledged the necessity of reform—as long as it was gradual, top-down, and grounded not in abstract theory but in an appreciation of English history.

Taylor explains, "Toryism rests on doubt in human nature; it distrusts improvement, clings to traditional institutions, prefers the past to the future.

"[5] He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1919 New Year Honours for his work during the First World War.