William Ewart Gladstone

James Bryce, 1st Viscount BryceProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 95K words
Chapters: 10

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.William Ewart Gladstone by Viscount James Bryce BryceAuthor: Bryce, James Bryce, Viscount, 1838-1922,Language: English, Class: DA: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Great Britain, Ireland, Central Europe, Release Date: Sep 1, 2002

Editor's review

This is James Bryce's critical biography of Gladstone. It is short but comes from an author equally at the forefront of British politics and scholarship. Bryce was himself a politician, jurist, and historian, and his observations of Gladstone carry the immediacy of a contemporary: he traces the outline of the political career while also portraying character and moral temperament. It reads less like a later biography with layer upon layer of archival research than like the balanced judgment of a scholar steeped in parliamentary politics. Its chief interest lies in its grasp of the tension between Gladstone's public image and private character, and in its account of the relations among his oratorical style, religious convictions, and political choices. Because it was written early, its citation of sources differs from today's academic norms; readers should treat it as a classical critical biography with a standpoint and warmth, not a complete modern biography. The electronic edition comes from the public domain and serves as an introduction to nineteenth-century British political history, or as reading alongside Gladstone's own speeches and parliamentary debates.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers interested in Victorian British political history
Students of parliamentary politics and nineteenth-century liberalism
History enthusiasts who want to see how a contemporary evaluated a political figure
Undergraduates who need an English original for extensive reading or source comparison

Not a good fit for

Specialist researchers expecting a detailed, chronological modern academic biography
Readers who want only light stories and lack patience for political topics
Thesis writers who need extensive annotations and reviews of the latest research

Reading tips

Read the chapters on Gladstone's character and oratory first, then return to the main line of his political career.
Read alongside a chronology of Gladstone's life to avoid losing the thread amid unfamiliar period background.
Use the English original for extensive reading; skip parliamentary terminology at first and look it up after finishing each chapter.
After reading, compare with a modern Gladstone biography to appreciate the difference between contemporary and later evaluations.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book Gladstone's own autobiography?

No. It is James Bryce's critical biography of Gladstone, a biographical work written by another person, focused on evaluation rather than self-account; what you read is the observation and judgment of a contemporary politician and scholar.

Can I read it without a foundation in British political history?

Yes, but it takes some patience. Background such as parliamentary reform and the Irish question is not elaborated in detail; it is advisable to consult a chronology of Gladstone's life and the basic outline of nineteenth-century British politics before entering the main text.

What is the source of this electronic edition?

It comes from Project Gutenberg and is a free public-domain e-book. The text is the English original, released in 2002; it is suitable for direct reading or for searchable reading after downloading, but it contains no modern scholarly annotations.

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About the author

James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce Author · British · 1838–1922

James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce (1838–1922), was a British scholar, jurist, historian, and Liberal politician. He earlier served as Regius Professor of Civil Law at Oxford and helped found the English Historical Review. In politics he held office as President of the Board of Trade and Chief Secretary for Ireland, and from 1907 to 1913 was British Ambassador to the United States. His writings span history and political commentary; his major works include The Holy Roman Empire and The American Commonwealth, along with observations on South Africa and South America, studies in contemporary biography, and a life of Gladstone. His writing is noted for solid use of sources, close observation, and clear prose, and has had a lasting influence on the study of imperial history and political institutions.