Mary Gladstone : a gentle rebel / Sheila Gooddie.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gooddie, Sheila.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Drew, Mary Gladstone, 1847-1927.

Drew, Mary Gladstone.

Women--Great Britain--Biography.

Women.

Great Britain.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xiv, 258 pages : illustrations, portraits ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Chichester : Wiley, 2003.

Summary:

As the Late Victorian Age drew to a close huge changes were taking place. The Ottoman Empire was in decline, the European states were jostling for power in Africa, industrialisation and the coming of the railway age had transformed society and the working man and woman were starting to fight for their right to education, suffrage and a better way of life. The world was at a point of transition between the Victorian age and the modern world of the twentieth century. Mary Gladstone was daughter and private secretary to William Gladstone, who spent sixty-three years in the House of Commons, twenty-seven of them in office, and was four times Prime Minister. This placed her at the heart of British politics, campaigning for her father, dealing with official correspondence and controlling access to the Prime Minister as well as disseminating and controlling information from him both to the press and to his ministers. This biography of Mary focuses on the period during which she was working with her father up to his death in 1898. It covers a crucial period in British history including Gladstone's attempts to give home rule to Ireland, brinkmanship in the Balkans, the height of the Empire and domestic reform such as universal male suffrage and elementary education for all.

Contents:

Family trees viii

Lyttelton and Gladstone births (1840-57) x

Introduction: Setting the scene 1

1 Prime time (1879) 7

2 Glynnes, Gladstones and Lytteltons (1833-49) 12

3 A visit to Scotland (1847-50) 21

4 'Naples Mary' (1850) 29

5 'Half-witted' and 'wanting' (1851-9) 37

6 'Rigged, figged and launched into society' (1864-6) 50

7 Charities, country houses and Continental polish (1864-8) 61

8 The passionate years (1868-75) 73

9 Life without May (1875-6) 86

10 The Eastern Question and an Irish visit (1876-9) 97

11 Mary as confidante and heroine (1879) 108

12 Campaigning brings victory (1879-80) 122

13 A room of her own (1880-1) 131

14 Irish matters dominate, with tragic consequences (1882-3) 145

15 Cruises and country holidays (1882-3) 158

16 The swings and roundabouts of politics (1884-5) 170

17 Private and public worlds collide (1885) 181

18 A new life for Mary, but the old life refuses to go away (1886-91) 194

19 'As much Mr Gladstone's daughter as ever' (1890-3) 209

20 A calling home (1893) 221

Postscript 1898-1928 236.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-250) and index.

ISBN:

0470854235

OCLC:

51437791