Eighteenth-Century British Premiers Walpole to the Younger Pitt [Hardcover]

Following his earlier surveys of 19th and 20th Century British Prime Ministers, Dick Leonard turns his attention to their 18th Century predecessors, including such major figures as Robert Walpole, the Elder Pitt (Lord Chatham), Lord North and the Younger Pitt.Introduction: The Road to the Prime Ministership Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford  'all these men have their price' Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington  'George II's favourite nonentity' Henry Pelham  Pragmatic Heir to Walpole Thomas Pelham-Holles, Duke of Newcastle  Mighty Panjamdrum, Feeble Premier William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire  'I have no motive but the King's service' John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute  the King's 'dearest friend' George Grenville  Able Premier, Undermined by his own Prolixity Charles Wentworth-Watson, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham  the Conscience of the Whigs William Pitt, the Elder, 1st Earl of Chatham  'I am sure that I can save this country, and that nobody else can' Augustus Henry Fitzroy, 3rd Duke of Gracfton  Well-intentioned Dilettante Frederick North, styled Lord North  Outstanding Parliamentarian, Pity about the Colonies& William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne  Too Clever by Half William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland  Twice a Figurehead William Pitt, the Younger  Peacetime Prodigy, Less Successful in War Epilogue Appendix IndexDick Leonard is an historian, journalist and author and a former Labour MP. For many years he was Assistant Editor of The Economist, and headed their office in Brussels, where he was later also correspondent of The Observer. He also worked for the BBC, and contributed regularly to leading newspapers across the world. His publications include The Economist Guide to the European Union, Elections in Britain, A Century of Premiers: Salisbury to Blair; Nineteenth Century British Premiers: Pitt to Rosebery and Eighteenth Century British Premiers: Walpole to the Younger Pitt.