Editing H. H. Asquith (section)

===Prime minister at leisure===
Possessed of "a faculty for working quickly",{{sfn|Asquith 1985|p=470}} Asquith had considerable time for leisure. Reading{{sfn|Koss|p=93}} the classics, poetry and a vast range of English literature consumed much of his time. So did correspondence; intensely disliking the telephone, Asquith was a prolific letter writer.{{sfn|Asquith 1985|p=13}} Travelling, often to country houses owned by members of Margot's family, was almost constant, Asquith being a devoted "[[Workweek and weekend|weekender]]".{{sfn|Jenkins|pp=259–261}} He spent part of each summer in Scotland, with golf, constituency matters, and time at [[Balmoral Castle|Balmoral]] as duty minister.<ref name="dnb"/> He and Margot divided their time between Downing Street and [[Mill House and The Wharf, Sutton Courtenay|The Wharf]],{{sfn|Tyack, Bradley & Pevsner|p=553}} a country house at [[Sutton Courtenay]] in Berkshire which they bought in 1912;{{sfn|Jenkins|p=259}} their London mansion, 20 [[Cavendish Square]],{{sfn|Margot Asquith 2014|p=xli}} was let during his premiership. He was addicted to [[Contract bridge]].{{sfn|Koss|p=94}}

Above all else, Asquith thrived on company and conversation. A clubbable man, he enjoyed "the companionship of clever and attractive women" even more.{{sfn|Asquith 1985|p=471}} Throughout his life, Asquith had a circle of close female friends, which Margot termed his "harem".{{sfn|Margot Asquith 2014|p=xlviii}} In 1912, one of these, [[Venetia Stanley (1887–1948)|Venetia Stanley]] became much closer. Meeting first in 1909–1910, by 1912 she was Asquith's constant correspondent and companion. Between that point and 1915, he wrote her some 560 letters, at a rate of up to four a day.{{sfn|Asquith 1985|loc=preface}} Although it remains uncertain whether or not they were lovers,{{sfn|Asquith 1985|p=3}} she became of central importance to him.{{sfn|Koss|p=140}} Asquith's thorough enjoyment of "comfort and luxury"{{sfn|Asquith 1985|p=471}} during peacetime, and his unwillingness to adjust his behaviour during conflict,{{sfn|Margot Asquith 2014|p=xcv}} ultimately contributed to the impression of a man out of touch. [[Lady Tree]]'s teasing question, asked at the height of the conflict, "Tell me, Mr Asquith, do you take an interest in the war?",{{sfn|Adelman|p=11}} conveyed a commonly held view.

Asquith enjoyed alcohol and his drinking was the subject of considerable gossip. His relaxed attitude to drink disappointed the temperance element in the Liberal coalition<ref>Marvin Rintala, "Taking the Pledge: H.H. Asquith and Drink." ''Biography'' 16.2 (1993): 103–135. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/23539576 online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005115409/https://www.jstor.org/stable/23539576 |date=5 October 2018 }}</ref> and some authors have suggested it affected his decision-making, for example in his opposition to Lloyd George's wartime attacks on the liquor trade.<ref>{{cite book|author=Robert Duncan|title=Pubs and Patriots: The Drink Crisis in Britain During World War One|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEAiCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA87|year=2013|pages=86–88|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9781846318955|access-date=5 October 2018|archive-date=23 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923023121/https://books.google.com/books?id=uEAiCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA87|url-status=live}}</ref> The Conservative leader [[Bonar Law]] quipped "Asquith drunk can make a better speech than any of us sober".
<ref>{{cite book|author=Hugh Purcell|title=Lloyd George|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iOykMxEgmdMC&pg=PA42|year=2006|pages=42–43|publisher=Haus |isbn=9781904950585|access-date=5 October 2018|archive-date=23 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923023124/https://books.google.com/books?id=iOykMxEgmdMC&pg=PA42|url-status=live}}</ref> His reputation suffered, especially as wartime crises demanded the full attention of the prime minister.<ref>Ben Wright, ''Order Order!: The Rise and Fall of Political Drinking'' (2016) ch 4.</ref> [[David Owen]] writes that Asquith was ordered by his doctor to rein in his consumption after a near-collapse in April 1911, but it is unclear whether he actually did so. Owen, a medical doctor by training, states that "by modern diagnostic standards, Asquith became an alcoholic while Prime Minister." Witnesses often remarked on his weight gain and red, bloated face.<ref>{{cite book|author=David Owen|title=The Hidden Perspective: The Military Conversations 1906–1914|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k1crDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT78|year=2014|pages=115–116|publisher=Haus |isbn=9781908323675|access-date=11 November 2018|archive-date=23 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923023122/https://books.google.com/books?id=k1crDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT78|url-status=live}}</ref>