Not to deny the appeal of books and podcasts in which successful people talk inspirationally about failure, but a new, quite different school of anecdotal evidence proposes an alternative approach. What if the most effective way to deal with failure is to deny it ever happened? Or – supposing something outwardly catastrophic is perceived definitely to have occurred – to explain how this narrative merely confirms the harsh challenges confronting the targeted idealist/saviour/innocent workhorse? “When the herd moves, it moves.” (Boris Johnson) “Last autumn I had a major setback.” (Liz Truss) “I had a really golden time personally.” (George Osborne)...