Description
Book SynopsisThe best political biography of the year'' Jonathan Sumption, Spectator
''Wonderful . . . A Life so nearly complete it need never be written again'' Ferdinand Mount, Times Literary Supplement
By the author of the Orwell Prize-winning Citizen Clem
Damned in coruscating verse by Shelley and Byron, his coffin hissed at during his funeral, Lord Castlereagh has one of the blackest reputations in British history. But as John Bew shows, this is but a half-drawn portrait. His gripping biography reveals a shy, inarticulate but passionate man; a towering political figure of implacable principles who redrew the map of Europe, fought a duel with a cabinet colleague and would tragically take his own life amid rumours of scandal and madness.
Trade ReviewJohn Bew has some heavy lifting to do in this consciously revisionist take. It is a great testament to his skills as a scholar and writer that he manages to do so with such aplomb . . .
stellar -- Tristram Hunt * Daily Telegraph *
Wonderful . . . Bew's book is not only unparalleled in its size and sweep; it is also drenched in the Irish dimension, enriched by the author's own Ulster heritage, as well as the sagacity, scholarship and charm that make this
a Life so nearly complete that it need never be written again -- Ferdinand Mount * Times Literary Supplement *
In a
magisterial political portrait Bew brings Castlereagh and his world sharply back to life, and reassesses one of Britain's great forgotten statesmen -- Dan Jones * Daily Telegraph *
The
best political biography of the year -- Jonathan Sumption * Spectator *
In this
well-researched and judicious book, John Bew successfully readjusts the picture . . . this
excellent biography tells a cautionary tale -- Leslie Mitchell * Literary Review *
This new biography by John Bew is a
wonderful book, in its scope, its scholarship and the magisterial sweep of the narrative * Irish Independent *
Vast, well-researched biography . . . as Bew's solid, accomplished book shows, no foreign secretary has worker harder, wielded such influence or inspired such poetic hatreds -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *
The most
brilliant and wise political biography I have read in a long while -- Ferdinand Mount * Wall St Journal *
Bew's achievement is to portray Castlereagh . . . convincingly and without any historical or bibliographical contortion * London Review of Books *
This is an excellent biography which has given us a far more realistic and nuanced view of this much maligned man * Contemporary Review *
A
compelling new biography of the Irishman who dominated early 19th century diplomacy -- Hywel Williams * Guardian *
John Bew is
the outstanding historian of his generation. His biography of Castlereagh displays a knowledge of character, a grasp of political intrigue and a talent for story-telling any writer would envy. He brings magnificently to life one of the most enigmatic, and influential, statesmen in Britain's history * Michael Gove *
Riveting . . . portrays the glory of perhaps the greatest of Britain's foreign secretaries -- Andrew Roberts * Standpoint *
a magisterial guide to Castlereagh's life that should inform the general understanding of international politics today . . .
a masterly account -- Brendan Simms * Foreign Affairs *
A finely etched portrait . . . Bew
impressively adds yet new dimensions to the man -- William Hay * Wall St Journal *
Excellent . . .
a terrific read * Jack Straw *
In a
formidable biography, John Bew has addressed the reputation of Castlereagh, one of the dominant political personalities of Regency Britain -- Keith Simpson * Total Politics *
Monumental -- Mark D'Arcy * BBC Political Books of the Year *
Bew is above all a very fine historian, very thorough and an extremely good writer -
he tells a damn good story -- Stephen Pound * BBC Booktalk *
'John Bew has some heavy lifting to do in this consciously revisionist take. It is a great testament to his skills as a scholar and writer that he manages to do so with such aplomb ... stellar' Tristram Hunt. * Tristram Hunt *
'In a magisterial political portrait Bew brings Castlereagh and his world sharply back to life'
Daily Telegraph. * Daily Telegraph *
'Wonderful ... A Life so nearly complete that it need never be written again' Ferdinand Mount,
Times Literary Supplement. * Times Literary Supplement *
Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgements. Maps. Prologue. PART I - ENLIGHTENMENT AND APOSTASY: Ireland's Robespierre; New Light; The Whig World; English Head, Irish Heart; Caesar in Ireland? The Reforming Giant and the Limits of Reason; Insular Dignity and Abstracted Freedom; Ragamuffins into Soldiers; A Romping Piece of Flesh; Pitt-ized with a Vengeance; Voltaire's Ideal Monster; Political Delinquency; The Wind and the Weather; Pitt's Henchman; A Lavaterian Eye; Erin's Death; Ireland Extinguished; The Mists that Overhang the Union. PART II - THE ENGLISH MINISTER: RISE, FALL AND REDEMPTION, 1801-1814: A Millstone about the Neck of Britain; A Clog Hung About a Dog's Neck; The Protege; The Return to War; England's Trouble, Ireland's Opportunity; Winding the Family Clock; Pitt's Heir? Pitt's Shadow; Two Irishmen in London; The Continental Foothold; Britannia Sickens; Unwilling to Give Up a Hero; The New Front; Weak Friends and Perfidious Enemies; Lord Castaway; London Grows Thin; Private Honour; Independent Patriot; The Knight of Old Returns; In Search of the Sixth Coalition; One Cause or Nothing; On the Rhine; Is it Peace? Paris at Last. PART III - FIRST AMONG EQUALS: Peace in Paris; The Gilded Age; Pleasure Bent in Vienna; The Congress; John Bull Fights Best, When He is Not Tied; Bringing Back the World to Peaceful Habits; In Defence of the Allies; Back to the Bustle; Enough to Destroy the Health of Hercules; An Entire Fearlessness; Like Wretches in a Slave-Ship; Meeting Murder; With Pistols in His Breeches; John Bull's Compass; Swellfoot the Tyrant; All We Ask of Our Allies; A Mixture of Warp and Woof; Mont Blanc Goes On; The Malaprop Cicero; The Cup Overflows; So He Has Cut His Throat. Conclusion - Never a Teacher of Men. Notes. Bibliography. Index.
