George Canning describes his maiden speech in 1974, Benjamin Disraeli the vote that brought down Sir Robert Peel's administration in 1845. William Jerdan witnesses the assassination of a prime minister, Spencer Percival, in 1812, whilst diaries such as Charles Greville, Harold Nicolson and 'Chips' Channon record their time as MPs. The old refreshment parlour, Bellamy's Kitchen, is described by Charles Dickens, and other visitors include Thomas Carlyle, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Virginia Woolf and George Orwell. Here also, are writings by leser-known individuals, containing witty, dramatic or moving reflections on an institution whose wealth of history and tradition ia as absorbing as it is unique. 'In the immortal words of Chris Patten, I have been gob-smacked' by thE quality of the book. . . . I can't think of a better book to give to anyone remotely interested in Parliament'. David Mellor EVENING STANDARD. 'Wonderful, nobody who is, was or ever hopes to be an MP, and nobody who has ever been touched by the curious alchemy of the place, can fail to be drawn by Silvester's collection'. Matthew Parris, SUNDAY TIMES