William Gladstone was, along with Winston Churchill, one of the most important prime ministers in Britain's history. He spent 63 years in the House of Commons and was prime minister four times, a unique accomplishment. This book also touches on his roles as a classical scholar, a wide-ranging author, a voracious reader, and an avid walker. Photo inserts.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Churchill, a towering historical biography, available for the first time in paperback.William Gladstone was, with Tennyson, Newman, Dickens, Carlyle, and Darwin, one of the stars of nineteenth-century British life. He spent sixty-three of his eighty-nine years in the House of Commons and was prime minister four times, a unique accomplishment. From his critical role in the formation of the Liberal Party to his preoccupation with the cause of Irish Home Rule, he was a commanding politician and statesman nonpareil. But Gladstone the man was much more- a classical scholar, a wide-ranging author, a vociferous participant in all the great theological debates of the day, a voracious reader, and an avid walker who chopped down trees for recreation. He was also a man obsessed with the idea of his own sinfulness, prone to self-flagellation and persistent in the practice of accosting prostitutes on the street and attempting to persuade them of the errors of their ways. This full and deep portrait of a complicated man offers a sweeping picture of a tumultuous century in British history, and is also a brilliant example of the biographer's art.
“"[An] enthralling biography...utterly absorbing." -The Atlantic Monthly "Excellent...wry, urbane, and laced with a gentle, affectionate irony-exactly the right tone for a historical monument who really was monumental....Jenkins makes Gladstone's life intelligible, affecting...entertaining." -The Boston Sunday Globe "A question that Jenkins's biography raises for the reader: why is it so much fun to read about Victorian politics'...An exhaustive, permanent biography, whose greatest virtue is its extraordinary worldliness. Jenkins has a bred-in-the-bone sense, almost unique among political biographers, of politics as improvisation, game, and even theatre." -The New Yorker From the Trade Paperback edition.”
“[An] enthralling biography...utterly absorbing.”
—The Atlantic Monthly
“Excellent...wry, urbane, and laced with a gentle, affectionate irony—exactly the right tone for a historical monument who really was monumental....Jenkins makes Gladstone’s life intelligible, affecting...entertaining.”
—The Boston Sunday Globe
“A question that Jenkins’s biography raises for the reader: why is it so much fun to read about Victorian politics?...An exhaustive, permanent biography, whose greatest virtue is its extraordinary worldliness. Jenkins has a bred-in-the-bone sense, almost unique among political biographers, of politics as improvisation, game, and even theatre.”
—The New Yorker
Roy Jenkins was the author of 18 books, including Gladstone, which won the Whitbread Prize for Biography. Active in British politics for half a century, he entered the House of Commons in 1948 and subsequently served as Minister of Aviation, Home Secretary, and Chancellor of the Exchequer; he was also the President of the European Commission and Chancellor of Oxford University. He died in 2003.
This item is eligible for simple returns within 30 days of delivery. Return shipping is the responsibility of the customer. See our returns policy for further details.
