Wheels within Wheels

An Unconventional Life

De: Edward Montagu

Narrado por: Mike Fraser

Wheels Within Wheels is the autobiography of Edward, 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu—a life shaped by heritage, controversy, imagination, and a lifelong love of the motor car. Spanning much of the twentieth century, it is both an intimate personal memoir and a portrait of a Britain learning how to adapt its past to a changing world.

Born in 1926 as the heir to one of England's oldest estates, inheriting a title rich in history but burdened by responsibility. His father was a pioneering advocate of motoring in Britain: a parliamentarian and journalist believing that the motor car was a force for progress. Widely educated and later serving as a Grenadier Guards officer in Palestine, Montagu came of age during a period of social upheaval and moral uncertainty.

In the early 1950s his life was violently derailed. Arrested and imprisoned for homosexual offences at a time when such relationships were illegal, he endured public disgrace and incarceration with restraint and resilience. His case would later be recognised as a turning point on the road to reform.

Well before his trial, Montagu had already confronted the stark realities facing Beaulieu. By the early 1950s it was clear that the traditional aristocratic model was no longer viable. In 1952 he took the decisive step of opening Palace House and the Abbey ruins to the public. Drawing on his inherited passion for motoring and his own experience as a hands-on driver, he laid the foundations for transforming Beaulieu into a major public heritage destination, which would eventually culminate in the creation of the National Motor Museum. Following his release from prison, he returned to these efforts under more difficult personal circumstances, picking up work already begun.

Reflective, candid, and adventurous, this book is the story of a man who survived scandal, embraced change, and helped ensure that history remained alive.

©2000 Beaulieu Enterprises Limited (P)2025 Beaulieu Enterprises Limited