Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #171026 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-13
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 448 pages

Literary Review, September 1, 2007
'This is real history. Unlike so many political biographers, Hawkins has really mastered the archives.'

Review
The first volume leaves him on the brink of his first ministry; the second volume is eagerly awaited...fine work (A. W. Purdue, THES )

Hopefully readers will not have to wait long for the remainder of this impressive work. Meantime, the book's publishers should be congratulated on having produced a handsome, illustrated volume, at a fairly reasonable price. (Terry Jenkins, BBC History Magazine )

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 )

Hawkins's...achievement [is] in bringing the mind of a reading public back to this curious and significant statesman (Michael Bentley, TLS )

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 )

very full, well-executed and revealing (J. P. Parry, Parliamentary History )

About the Author
Angus Hawkins is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a member of the History Faculty at the University of Oxford, Director of International Programmes in Oxford University's Department for Continuing Education, and Fellow and Bursar of Kellogg College, Oxford. He has published numerous books on Victorian politics, including Parliament, Party and the Art of Politics in Britain, 1855-1859 and British Party Politics, 1852-1886 and has won a number of prizes
including the Gladstone Memorial Prize and the McCann Award.

Customer Reviews

An Excellent Biography
The Forgotten Prime Minister volume 1 by Angus Hawkins is an in-depth account of the early life of the 14th Earl of Derby. The Earl of Derby would eventually become Prime Minister three times as the leader of the Conservative Party. This first volume mainly deals with his career from when he was the great hope of the Whigs and had some important legislative achievements to his name, to holding the Conservative Party together after they split over the Repeal of the Corn Laws. The book is well-written and has a nice flow to it although it is perhaps more detailed than some biographies and therfore is perhaps not for all. However, in my opinion it is a really good book and a must for anyone interested in Victorian politics.

More a doorstop than a book...
After finishing reading this book I thought what its future uses could be if I actually owned it. I thought perhaps I could use it as an offensive weapon by either hitting a would-be attacker over the head, or bore them to death by reading from it.

But before I start slating the book - its best to gets its strengths out the way. The author cannot be accused of having cut corners when undertaking research for the book. Judging by his insight and also the flood of footnotes in the book - he spent quite a bit of time doing his research and drawing appropriate conclusions.

However, an apparently well researched book is of little good if it is for the most unreadable. I remember once being told that a book will only be given a nice cover that is eyecatching if it is expected to sell reasonably well in the general book market. But the Forgotten Prime Minister is not for a general readership.

Considering this is an individual of which people know little, if anything, Hawkins is very poor at actually portraying Derby as a flesh and blood human being. Far from making him understood - Derby appears more than ever as some sort of Victorian robot. The trick with getting readers to understand a complex subject is to give them something they can relate to, recognise and understand. Otherwise they become disengaged because they cannot follow what is happening.

Many reviews on the internet praise this book and state that it is a high politics book. I could not agree more.

Its odd that Hawkins claims that his aim is to bring attention to Derby, The Forgotten Prime Minister. But if anything, books such as this will ensure that he remains forgotten to all but the select few who can decipher Hawkins work.