Nineteenth-century British premiers : Pitt to Rosebery / Dick Leonard.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Leonard, R. L. (Richard Lawrence)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Prime ministers--Great Britain--Biography.

Prime ministers.

Great Britain.

Great Britain--Politics and government--19th century.

Politics and government.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

viii, 354 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Basingstoke, England ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.

Summary:

Following his earlier survey of twentieth-century British Prime Ministers, Dick Leonard turns his attention to their nineteenth-century predecessors. In a series of twenty biographical essays, he recounts the principal events of their political careers, assesses their performance as Prime Ministers, and asks what lasting influence they have had. He also recounts fascinating and often little-known facts from their private and public lives. For example, which Prime Minister persuaded his parents to bring up his illegitimate daughter and pass her off as his much younger sister? Which Prime Minister spent his evenings prowling the streets of London, trying to 'reform' prostitutes? Who was assassinated in the House of Commons? Who told a courtesan who tried to blackmail him 'Publish and be damned'? And who proclaimed Queen Victoria as Empress of India?

Contents:

1 William Pitt, the Younger - Reformer Turned Reactionary? 5

2 Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth - Better than His Reputation? 28

3 William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville - Not Quite 'All the Talents' 38

4 William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland - Whig into Tory 55

5 Spencer Perceval - Struck Down in His Prime 67

6 Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool - Keeping the Show on the Road 81

7 George Canning - in the Footsteps of Pitt 100

8 Frederick John Robinson, Viscount Goderich, 1st Earl of Ripon - Inadequate Stopgap 120

9 Arthur Wesley (Wellesley), 1st Duke of Wellington - Military Hero, Political Misfit? 132

10 Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey - In the Footsteps of Fox 149

11 William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne - Mentor to a Young Monarch 163

12 Sir Robert Peel - Arch Pragmatist or Tory Traitor? 180

13 Lord John Russell, 1st Earl Russell - from Whig to Liberal 200

14 Edward Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby - 'The Brilliant Chief, Irregularly Great' 217

15 George Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen - Failure or Scapegoat? 232

16 Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston - Master Diplomat or Playground Bully? 245

17 Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield - Climbing 'the Greasy Pole' 266

18 William Ewart Gladstone - From 'Stern Unbending Tory' to 'the People's William' 286

19 Robert Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury - Skilful Opponent of Reform 310

20 Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery - Seeking 'the Palm without the Dust' 325

Appendix Prime Ministers of the Nineteenth Century 339.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1403939098

9781403939098

0230209858

9780230209855

OCLC:

195695789