Gladstone: 1809-1898 (Paperback)

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Review

"Rarely can a single scholar have re-mapped a whole historical territory so grandly as H. C. G. Matthew has done in the case of Gladstone in particular and of Victorian politics and culture in general."--English Historical Review

Product Description

H. C. G. Matthew's writings on Gladstone are generally acknowledged to have transformed understanding of the `Grand Old Man' of British Politics, and indeed his whole age. Appearing first as Introductions to his definitive edition of The Gladstone Diaries, they have been revised and made available in this volume, collected together in paperback for the first time.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 744 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (November 27, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198206968
• ISBN-13: 978-0198206965
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,709,755 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent guide for understanding Gladstone, December 29, 2003

By	Mark Klobas (Tempe, AZ, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

William Ewart Gladstone stands as a giant of Victorian liberalism. First elected to the House of Commons in 1832, he went on to become the dominant Liberal politician of the era, ultimately serving as prime minister four times before retiring in 1894. Such a remarkable life poses a considerable challenge for the biographer, and there are few better equipped for the task than Matthew. His decades-long work as editor of Gladstone's extensively detailed diaries immersed him in the minutiae of the man's life. The insight Matthew gained from this work was reflected in the introductions to the published volumes of the series, which were later collected into this book.

The result is not a biography in the traditional sense. Matthew does not bother to cover Gladstone's life from event to event. Instead, he provides an intellectual portrait of the man, charting the development of his ideas and how they were applied throughout his public career. The result is a challenging work, one which assumes that the reader has a familiarity with the events of the era (for those who don't have one, I recommend supplementing Matthew's book with a historical survey of the period, such as Norman McCord's British History, 1815-1906 or the relevant volumes in the Oxford History of England series). Yet in the end it is an enormously rewarding read, one that offers invaluable insights which historians will use for generations to come in shaping their understanding of the man and the era.