The Prime Ministers
eBook - ePub

The Prime Ministers

Volume the First: From Sir Robert Walpole to Sir Robert Peel

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

The Prime Ministers

Volume the First: From Sir Robert Walpole to Sir Robert Peel

About this book

There is really in law no such office as that of Prime Minister. No statute grants him or her powers. Even the name came into official use only in 1878, and the Prime Minister as such only became known to the law in 1905. The office of Prime Minister has in fact been based on convention and has been shaped by personal and political factors; it is what the holder makes of it and that is why a sensible way to study the development of the office is by reading the biographies of its holders.

Originally published in 1974 (volume 1) and 1975 (volume 2), beginning with Robert Walpole and including Edward Heath, the holder at the time, there had been forty-seven Prime Ministers in all. Yet there had been no book devoted exclusively to recording their characters, actions and achievements, to which the student or the interested general reader could turn for immediate information, even if they did not seek to read the whole 250-year record – in itself a fascinating story for the politically minded. To fill this gap leading political historians of the time were invited to contribute papers, each in their own special period, and we are presented, as a result, with a complete gallery of Prime Ministers, each paper revealing the constant interaction of personality and circumstance, and the whole collection providing an impressive record of the way the premiership changed with its various incumbents.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
No, books cannot be downloaded as external files, such as PDFs, for use outside of Perlego. However, you can download books within the Perlego app for offline reading on mobile or tablet. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
  • Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
  • Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Both plans are available with monthly, semester, or annual billing cycles.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access The Prime Ministers by Herbert van Thal in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Politics & International Relations & Political History & Theory. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Half Title
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright Page
  5. Original Title Page
  6. Original Copyright Page
  7. Table of Contents
  8. Illustrations
  9. Introduction - The Office of Prime Minister page
  10. 1. Sir Robert Walpole (1721-42)
  11. 2. The Earl of Wilmington (1742-43)
  12. 3. Henry Pelham (1743-54)
  13. 4. The Duke of Newcastle (1754-56; 1757-62)
  14. 5. The Duke of Devonshire (1756-57)
  15. 6. The Earl of Bute (1762-63)
  16. 7. George Grenville (1763-65)
  17. 8. The Marquis of Rockingham (1765-66; April-July 1782)
  18. 9. William Pitt, Earl of Chatham (1766-68)
  19. 10. The Duke of Grafton (1768-70)
  20. 11. Lord North (1770-82)
  21. 12. The Earl of Shelburne (1782-83)
  22. 13. The Duke of Portland (April-December 1783; 1807-09)
  23. 14. William Pitt ‘the Younger’ (1783-1801; 1804-06)
  24. 15. Henry Addington, Viscount Sidmouth (1801-04)
  25. 16. Lord Grenville (1806-07)
  26. 17. Spencer Perceval (1809-12)
  27. 18. The Earl of Liverpool (1812-27)
  28. 19. George Canning (April-August 1827)
  29. 20. Viscount Goderich (1823-28)
  30. 21. The Duke of Wellington (1828-30)
  31. 22. Earl Grey (1830-34)
  32. 23. Viscount Melbourne (1834, 1835-9, 1839-41)
  33. 24. Sir Robert Peel (1834-5, 1841-5, 1845-6)
  34. Notes on the Authors