Book excerpt: 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 Ive 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 Speedicuts adventures in Berlin have given me an idea for a book. Bram Stoker