 There were those who believed , like Muggeridge , that Eden 's rapid rise through the political hierarchy owed as much to image as to substance . In the period between his resignation and his return to the government on the outbreak of war in 1939 , Eden and his acolytes , who , broadly speaking , favoured a tougher stance against Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini , were often referred to as " the glamour boys " . Harold Nicolson , a member of this group who found Eden 's approach ineffectual , observed that Eden was missing " every boat with exquisite elegance " . 
