Login

Hawkins, Angus

The Forgotten Prime Minister: The 14th Earl of Derby : Volume I: Ascent, 1799-1851

Hawkins, Angus - The Forgotten Prime Minister: The 14th Earl of Derby : Volume I: Ascent, 1799-1851, ebook

43,65€

Ebook, PDF with Adobe DRM
ISBN: 9780191525414
DRM Restrictions

PrintingAllowed without restriction
Copy to clipboard5 excerpts

The first ever full biographical study of Lord Derby - the first British statesman to become prime minister three times and the longest serving leader in the history of British party politics. A book that is likely to seriously affect the way we think not only about Derby himself, but also about Victorian politics and society more generally. Lord Derby was the first British statesman to become prime minister three times. He remains the longest serving party leader in modern British politics, heading the Conservative party for twenty-two years from 1846 to 1868. He abolished slavery in the British Empire, established a national system of education in Ireland, was a prominent advocate for the 1832 Reform Act and, as prime minister, oversaw the introduction of the Second Reform Act in 1867. Yet no biography of Derby, based upon his papers and correspondence, has previously been published. Alone of all Britain's premiers, Derby has never received a full scholarly study examining his policies, personality, and beliefs. Largely airbrushed out of our received view of Victorian politics, Derby has become the forgotten prime minister. This ground-breaking biography, based upon Derby's own papers and extensive archive, as well as recently discovered sources, fills this striking gap. It completely revises the conventional portrait of Derby as a dull and apathetic politician, revealing him as a complex, astute, influential, and significant figure, who had a profound effect on the politics and society of his time. As Hawkins shows, far from being an uninterested dilettante, Derby played an instrumental role in directing Britain's path through the historic opportunities and challenges confronting the nation at a time of increasing political participation, industrial pre-eminence, urban growth, colonial expansion, religious controversy, and Irish tragedy. This book is likely not only to change our view of Derby himself but also fundamentally to affect our understanding of nineteenth century British party politics, the history of the Conservative party, and the nature of public life in the Victorian age in general, including some of its foremost figures, such as Robert Peel, Lord John Russell, Lord Palmerston, William Gladstone, and Benjamin Disraeli. Volume I takes the reader through Derby's early years, including his role in the 1832 Reform Act, the abolition of slavery, and the troubled years of the 1840s, through to the eve of his appointment as prime minister in the early 1850s. - ;OUP should be congratulated for publishing this book in two volumes...well-researched, well-written book. - Andrew Roberts, The Sunday Times;This, the first full-length biography of Derby to be written with access to the archives, will be the only one needed this century... The next volume is eagerly awaited. - Andrew Roberts, The Sunday Times;this is real history. Unlike so many political biographers, Hawkins has really mastered the archives. There is much in this book that is new, much that will permanently change interpretations of the period. It is about real politicians, not caricatures or faceless abstractions. Those who already have some acquaintance with the early years of the nineteenth century will find great pleasure in reading this book - Leslie Mitchell, Literary Review

Copying to clipboard limited to 5 samples

Keywords: prime minister, British party politics, biographical study, Lord Derby

Author(s)
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Publication year
2007
Language
en
Edition
1
Page amount
544 pages
Category
Society
Format
Ebook
eISBN (PDF)
9780191525414

Similar titles