Neville Chamberlain remains one of the most controversial figures of twentieth-century British politics. For many years he was admired, even revered, throughout Britain. After serving as Prime Minister, however, Chamberlain left office a reviled and disdained public figure. This book seeks to explain these extremes while offering the author's assessment of what Chamberlain's historical reputation ought to be.
Neville Chamberlain remains one of the most controversial figures of twentieth-century British politics. For many years he was admired, even revered, ...
The founder of the modern British Conservative party has been described as an adventurer, a charlatan, a clever rogue and a perspicacious politician. These different characterizations have all had their ardent supporters as Benjamin Disraeli rarely inspired indifference from his contemporaries or later commentators.
This new lively study sheds light on Disraeli's controversial life and ambiguous political legacy, providing a portrait of one of the great personalities of the age and the leader of the key political movement of Victorian Britain.
Before becoming Prime Minister in...
The founder of the modern British Conservative party has been described as an adventurer, a charlatan, a clever rogue and a perspicacious politicia...
There is no shortage of characterizations of Napoleon, but not since Peter Geyl's classic Napoleon: For and Against in the 1940s has a writer tried to assess his many reputations and how they have evolved, and continue to evolve. Drawing on the latest scholarship, this addition to the Reputations series. Alexander treats Napoleon as a universal figure, rather than a specifically French one, and draws from an array of evidence in many media. He focuses particularly on how Napoleon's reputation has been altered by such events as the World Wars and the Cold War, and by association with such...
There is no shortage of characterizations of Napoleon, but not since Peter Geyl's classic Napoleon: For and Against in the 1940s has a writer tried...
The construction and deconstruction of Becket's reputation is central to this provocative new study. The cult of Becket has remained enduring: it was the centerpiece of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales; and in our own time it has carried powerful enough resonance to generate interpretations from T.S. Eliot, Jean Anouilh, and indeed Hollywood. This book investigates whether the popular conception of Becket through the ages is a result of valid assessments of the man and his cause, or a product of a carefully constructed myth, and how far can one correct for the bias and reach the truth.
The construction and deconstruction of Becket's reputation is central to this provocative new study. The cult of Becket has remained enduring: it was ...
This book is not a biography of Margaret Thatcher. It is a study of how her reputation in both the domestic and international sphere was constructed by Thatcher and others over the course of her career. Notably, this is the first scholarly treatment to make full use of the Thatcher Archive, and as a result has comprehensively reassessed and re-evaluated her place in the British political pantheon
This book is not a biography of Margaret Thatcher. It is a study of how her reputation in both the domestic and international sphere was constructed b...
Assessment of Edward IV is inextricably bound up not only in the record of his reign, itself much disputed, but also with what proved to be his baleful legacy. Edward IV, the first Yorkist king, ruled for 22 years, ending the Wars of the Roses, redeeming royal prestige at home and abroad, restoring order and public finances, and crushing his opponents. His son succeeded him peacefully, but was deposed within months in favor his uncle Richard III. This book explores how Edward IV's reputation has changed and analyzes the major issues in light of contemporary and later perceptions of this...
Assessment of Edward IV is inextricably bound up not only in the record of his reign, itself much disputed, but also with what proved to be his bal...
This book examines Richard Nixon's place in history, from his many achievements to his notable shortcomings to the Watergate scandal which has often defined his presidency. In his lifetime Nixon attempted to change perspectives to remodel his shattered image and portray himself as a great leader brought down by one mistake. Since his death in 1994, historians have been reassessing his achievements and in this latest addition to the Reputations series the Nixon presidency is reexamined to discern how Nixon's reputation has evolved and how far it corresponds to his actions and their...
This book examines Richard Nixon's place in history, from his many achievements to his notable shortcomings to the Watergate scandal which has ofte...
