Queen Victoria and her Prime Ministers

Condition: BRAND NEW ISBN: 9780008106225 Author(s): Anne Somerset Format: Hardcover Language: English Year: 2024 Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Pages: 576

Description: A Daily Mail Best History Book of the Year; A Spectator Best Book of the YearIt is generally accepted that Queen Victoria reigned but did not rule. This couldnA?t be more wrong. In Queen Victoria and Her Prime Ministers, Anne Somerset masterfully traces VictoriaA?s political evolution, from headstrong teenager to seasoned octogenarian. This book demonstrates her passionate involvement in state affairs, and casts fresh light on her relationships with her ten prime ministers.Victoria herself acknowledged that when it came to A?likes and dislikesA? of her prime ministers, A?she had them very stronglyA?. She showed girlish adoration for her first Prime Minister, the worldly-wise Lord Melbourne, whose delightful conversation and kindly guidance enchanted her. Later in her reign, Benjamin Disraeli A? who flattered her shamelessly, tirelessly praising her sagacity and judgement and filling her life with A?poetry, romance and chivalryA? A? became her favourite.While she developed a powerful bond with several of her Prime Ministers, in other cases the relationship fell little short of mutual detestation. VictoriaA?s keenest antipathy was reserved for DisraeliA?s great rival, the Liberal William Gladstone. When he became prime minister for a fourth time at the age of 82, Victoria declared it A?a bad jokeA? that this A?dangerous old fanaticA? should be A?thrust down her throatA?.Queen Victoria and Her Prime Ministers charts the bitter clashes and affectionate interactions Victoria had with her ten premiers in often hilarious detail. Drawing extensively on unpublished sources such as material from the Royal Archives and never-before-seen prime ministerial papers, it casts a fresh and highly illuminating perspective not just on Victoria, but on the exceptionally able politicians who served her in g