A new survey of Gladstone's life and career, placing him firmly in the context of nineteenth-century Britain, and covering both his intriguing private life and his public career.
In 1998 an international conference brought Gladstone scholars together to mark the centenary of his death, and some of the papers presented on that occasion are published in this volume. They cover topics such as parliamentary reform and free trade.
Gladstone focuses on the public side of the statesman's life and on those aspects of his private life - such as his religious beliefs and family life - which most affected his career. Besides reflecting the current state of the debate, this study draws on the author's own work in progress on various aspects of Victorian liberalism, including political charisma and nationalism. With its thematic approach, Dr Biagini's short, clear analysis offers an exciting introduction and a flexible teaching aid, with a guide to further reading. Gladstone focuses on the public side of the statesman's life and on those aspects of his private life - such as his religious beliefs and family life - which most affected his career. Besides reflecting the current state of the debate, this study draws on the author's own work in progress on various aspects of Victorian liberalism, including political charisma and nationalism. With its thematic approach, Dr Biagini's short, clear analysis offers an exciting introduction and a flexible teaching aid, with a guide to further reading. A new biographical study of the quintessential Victorian statesman The book has an unusual thematic approach making it easy to look up specific questions Uses a wide range of source material to shed light on Gladstone's life and work
This gripping and important book brings alive over two hundred years of humanitarian interventions. Freedom’s Battle illuminates the passionate debates between conscience and imperialism ignited by the first human rights activists in the 19th century, and shows how a newly emergent free press galvanized British, American, and French citizens to action by exposing them to distant atrocities. Wildly romantic and full of bizarre enthusiasms, these activists were pioneers of a new political consciousness. And their legacy has much to teach us about today’s human rights crises.
Lady Mary Derby (1824-1900) occupied a pivotal position in Victorian politics, yet her activities have largely been overlooked or ignored. This volume places Mary back into the political position she occupied and offers the first dedicated account of her career. Based on extensive archival research, including hitherto neglected or lost sources, this study reconstructs the political worlds Mary inhabited. Her political landscape was dominated by the machinations and intrigues of high politics and diplomacy. As Jennifer Davey uncovers, Mary's political skill and acumen were highly valued by leading politicians of the day, including Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone, and she played a significant role in many of the key events of the mid-Victorian era. This included the passing of the Second Reform Act, the formation of Disraeli's 1874 Government, the Eastern Crisis of 1875-1878, and Gladstone's 1880-1885 Government. By exploring how one woman was able to exercise influence at the heart of Victorian politics, this book considers what Mary's career tells us about the nature of political life in the mid-nineteenth century. It sheds new light on the connections between informal and formal political culture, incorporating the politics of the home, letter-writing, and social relations into a consideration of the politics of Parliament and Government. It provides a rich investigation of how a woman, with few legal or constitutional rights, was able to become a significant figure in mid-Victorian political life.
This naval history reveals the story of Victorian-era officers and abolitionists who fought the illegal slave trade in the Indian Ocean. Though the British Empire outlawed the slave trade in 1807, many British ships continued the practice for decades along the eastern coast of Africa. The Royal Navy’s response was to dispatch a squadron charged with patrolling the African coast for rogue slave ships. In Squadron, John Broich tells the story of the four Royal Naval officers who made it their personal mission to end the still-rampant slave trade. The campaign was quickly cancelled when it began to interfere with the interests of the wealthy merchant class. But in time, a coalition of naval officers and abolitionists forced the British government’s hand into eradicating the slave trade entirely. Drawing on firsthand accounts and archives throughout the U.K., Broich tells a tale of defiance in the face of political corruption, while delivering thrills in the tradition of high seas heroism. If it weren’t a true story, Squadron would be right at home alongside Patrick O’Brian’s Master and Commander series.
This is a print on demand book and is therefore non- returnable. Perhaps the most eminent of eminent Victorians, a master alike of parliamentary debate and public oratory, and regarded as the greatest Christian statesman of his day, William Ewart Gladstone (1809- 1898) governed Britain at a time when the country stood at the apex of the world affairs. In this book historian David Bebbington presents a superb, balanced portrait of Gladstone -- his character, his convictions, his actions, his legacy.
This book presents a study of Lord Salisbury, British prime minister in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, whose political philosophy was reactionary and defeatist, and who is remembered for an irony that was wounding as well as diverting.
Today representative democracy is the dominant political system in the world. Britain played a prominent part in the democratization of the world through both its constitutional reforms at home and its power and influence abroad. In that process, Prime Ministers played a prominent role through their power and influence in government, Parliament and the country more generally. Quinault examines the stance of ten leading Prime Ministers - from the mid-nineteenth century until the twenty-first century - on the theory and practice of democracy. The attitude of each Prime Minister is assessed by considering their general views on democracy and their use of that term and concept in their discourse and thereby their role in advancing or resisting democratic political change. Particular attention is paid to their role in electoral reform, together with their stance on the composition and powers of the House of Lords and the role of the monarchy in the governing process. Their attitudes to the democratic aspects of some major international issues are also considered.