Lord Salisbury

Nicky Webster's short biography, “My Lord" Salisbury, explores the life of the 2nd Marquess of Salisbury ( 17th April 1791 - 12 April 1868 ), a British Conservative politician. Until now, there has been no published biographical work on the 2nd Marquess. He has figured but briefly in books about other members of the Cecil family and, reduced to little more than anecdote, he is portrayed as a petty local martinet. Yet the archive of his correspondence held at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire suggests a different man. The minutes of the House of Lords show a thinking member of the Upper House, deeply committed to the parliamentary process and the rule of law. More intimate correspondence with members of his family reveals a husband, a father and a brother who experienced the joys, the sorrows and the frustrations of family life. This new work will appeal to readers who are interested in the 18th and 19th century aristocracy, and also those who would like to access well researched accounts of historical figures. Not just for the academic and professional reader, this concise, clear biography presents a solid understanding of the life and multi-faceted personality of the 2nd Marquess of Salisbury. It is an informative but at the same time an entertaining and easy read.

This book presents a study of Lord Salisbury, British prime minister in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, whose political philosophy was reactionary and defeatist, and who is remembered for an irony that was wounding as well as diverting.

Lord Salisbury (1830–1903) is now a subject of intense historical attention. This important study moves away from conventional biography and presents an original portrait of the mental world inhabited by late Victorian Conservatives at the time when their world-view was coming under severe strain. At the centre of the picture is the 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, but Lord Salisbury's World does not simply tell the story of his life and politics. Instead, it asks sensitive questions about how the political, intellectual and religious environments of the late Victorian period seemed to one of its sharpest intellects, and it situates Salisbury and his immediate entourage in a wide landscape of relationships, perceptions and problems. Professor Bentley takes the reader into Conservative assumptions about time and space, property and society, religion and the state, and the past and the future - the very language in which they expressed themselves.

This study explains how Salisbury viewed cultural conflicts between the East and the West, how he treated Oriental nationality and nationalist aspirations in British dominions in the East, and how he directed British policy in the Eastern world in a time when the Western Powers were plunging into a struggle for spheres of predominance. In pursuit of British imperial interests, Salisbury was outwardly determined, but acutely aware of the inherent moral conflicts. He understood that the expansion of Europe was inevitable, but, taking into account the rights and feelings of the Eastern nations, he endeavoured to reduce his country’s impact on the peoples subjected to British control. Hence his preference for the generally peaceful invasion effected by informal empire. Following an introductory discussion on Salisbury’s ideas and policy, particularly in the light of his treatment of nationality, this research investigates his record in India, Turkey, Egypt, and China to argue for a strikingly sympathetic attitude in his dealings with Eastern nationalities. While it is a truism to say that British imperialism was coloured by Christian beliefs and liberal principles, it has not yet been appreciated how far Salisbury succeeded in reconciling the moral and practical demands of Western civilization upon itself with the requirements of power.

Lord Salisbury dominated the late Victorian political scene. He was Prime Minister for much of the time and also Foreign Secretary, very often holding down the two positions concurrently. In achievement and ability he was at least the equal of Disraeli and Gladstone though less well remembered. In part that was the result of his own aloof and laodicean temperament but it was also the fault of there being no faintly adequate modern biography (his daughter, Lady Gwendolen Cecil wrote a magnificent biography early in the twentieth-century but although in four volumes it only got as far as 1892). At last, in 1999 with the publication of Andrew Roberts' biography this desideratum was filled. Here was the biography of sufficient stature to do justice to the Victorian Titan. Most aptly it went on to win the Wolfson History Prize and the James Stern Silver Pen Award for Non-Fiction. The uniformly outstanding reviews prove why. 'Andrew Roberts has filled one of the great gaps in Victorian historiography. This is the first authoritative life of the statesman who dominated politics from 1885 to 1902 . . . A brilliant biography that will long replace anything which has appeared before.' Robert Blake, Daily Telegraph 'This is a biography of quite unusual quality and insight, tautly organized yet flowing easily, with years of research behind it to reinforce its authority. While not seeking to diminish either Gladstone or Disraeli, it restores Salisbury to the commanding position he rightfully occupied in Victorian politics.' Peter Clarke, Sunday Times 'An outstanding achievement . . . seldom has such an important study been such splendid entertainment.' Piers Brendon, Independent 'This is a book to put on one's shelf alongside Ehrman's Younger Pitt, Gash's volumes on Peel and Blake's Disraeli . . . Andrew Roberts' book has the balance, insight all-roundedness and intellectual elegance of Lord Salisbury himself.' A. D. Harvey, Salisbury Review '(Salisbury) deserves, and has found, a fine biographer, who has left no stone unturned in his researches, has written cogently and well about his subject, and provided not just a history of Lord Salisbury, but one of the best histories yet of Victorian Britain and her place in the world.' Simon Heffer, Daily Mail ' Salisbury is a great biography, magisterially proportioned and fit to take its place with Gash on Peel and Blake on Disraeli, if not with Morley's Gladstone. Moreover, although constructed on a massive scale, it is so beautifully written that one could not want it a page shorter. It is unlikely ever to be superseded.' Vernon Bogdanor, Times Higher Educational Supplement 'Roberts triumphantly retrieves Salisbury from unmerited obscurity with a book as delightful to read as it is informative.' Niall Ferguson, Mail on Sunday 'A terrific piece of biography; I really enjoyed it.' Jeremy Paxman, Start the Week 'Andrew Roberts' Salisbury fills a most remarkable gap in British historiography with a study that that is not only learned and comprehensive but startlingly well-written.' Michael Howard, Times Literary Supplement Books of the Year 'It captures the essence of Salisbury in a way that nothing has has ever done for me before.' Roy Jenkins, Financial Times