British Prime Ministers from Walpole to Salisbury: The 18th and 19th Centuries: Volume 1

ISBN-13: 9780367469115 / Angielski / Miękka / 2020 / 432 str.

Dick Leonard

Opis

This book surveys the lives and careers of all 32 Prime Ministers from Sir Robert Walpole (1721-42) to Archibald Philip Primrose (1894-95) in 32 succinct, informative and entertaining chapters. It is also part of a 2-volume set with the companion Modern British Prime Ministers from Balfour to Johnson.

Spis treści

Introduction: The Road to the Prime Ministership  PART I: The 18^th Century  1. Robert Walpole, 1^st Earl of Orford: "All these men have their price"  2. Spencer Compton, 1^st Earl of Wilmington: "George II’s favourite nonentity"  3. Henry Pelham: Pragmatic heir to Walpole  4. Thomas Pelham-Holles, Duke of Newcastle: Mighty Panjamdrum, feeble Premier  5. William Cavendish, 4^th Duke of Devonshire: "I have no motive but the King’s service"  6. John Stuart, 3^rd Earl of Bute: The King’s "dearest friend"  7. George Grenville: Able Premier, undermined by his own prolixity  8. Charles Wentworth-Watson, 2^nd Marquess of Rockingham: The conscience of the Whigs  9. William Pitt, the Elder, 1^st Earl of Chatham: "I am sure that I can save this country, and that nobody else can"  10. Augustus Henry Fitzroy, 3^rd Duke of Grafton: Well-intentioned dilettante  11. Frederick North, styled Lord North: Outstanding parliamentarian, pity about the colonies…  12. William Petty, 2^nd Earl of Shelburne: Intellectual in Politics  13. William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3^rd Duke of Portland: Twice a figurehead  14. William Pitt, the Younger: Reformer Turned Reactionary?  PART II: The 19^th Century  15. Henry Addington, 1^st Viscount Sidmouth: Better than his Reputation?  16. William Grenville, 1^st Baron Grenville: Not Quite 'All the Talents'  17. Spencer Perceval: Struck Down in his Prime  18. Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2^nd Earl of Liverpool: Keeping the Show on the Road  19. George Canning: In the Footsteps of Pitt  20. Frederick John Robinson, Viscount Goderich, 1^st Earl of Ripon: Inadequate Stopgap  21. Arthur Wesley (Wellesley), 1^st Duke of Wellington: Military Hero, Political Misfit?  22. Charles Grey, 2^nd Earl Grey: In the Footsteps of Fox  23. William Lamb, 2^nd Viscount Melbourne: Mentor to a Young Monarch  24. Sir Robert Peel: Arch Pragmatist or Tory Traitor?  25. Lord John Russell, 1^st Earl Russell: From Whig to Liberal  26. Edward Stanley, 14^th Earl of Derby: 'The Brilliant Chief, Irregularly Great'  27. George Hamilton Gordon, 4^th Earl of Aberdeen: Failure or Scapegoat?  28. Henry John Temple, 3^rd Viscount Palmerston: Master Diplomat or Playground Bully?  29. Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield: Climbing 'the Greasy Pole'  30. William Ewart Gladstone: From 'Stern Unbending Tory' to 'The People's William'  31. Robert Cecil, 3^rd Marquess of Salisbury: Skilful Opponent of Reform  32. Archibald Philip Primrose, 5^th Earl of Rosebery: Seeking 'the Palm without the Dust' 

O autorze

Dick Leonard is a journalist, author and former Labour MP. He was Assistant Editor of The Economist for 12 years, and has also worked for The Observer, the BBC, the Fabian Society, the Centre for European Policy Studies and the Publishers Association.