The last two volumes of Gladstone's diaries depict the extraordinary energy of a remarkable octogenarian: Gladstone was eighty-four when he resigned the Premiership in 1894 to close his fourth administration. His pursuit of `justice for Ireland' through the successful passage of a Home Rule Bill through the Commons in 1893 forms the political centrepiece of these volumes. But there is also a wealth of material on imperial, foreign, domestic, and religious politics contained in the daily diary enteries, the minutes of the ...
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The last two volumes of Gladstone's diaries depict the extraordinary energy of a remarkable octogenarian: Gladstone was eighty-four when he resigned the Premiership in 1894 to close his fourth administration. His pursuit of `justice for Ireland' through the successful passage of a Home Rule Bill through the Commons in 1893 forms the political centrepiece of these volumes. But there is also a wealth of material on imperial, foreign, domestic, and religious politics contained in the daily diary enteries, the minutes of the Cabinets of the 1892-4 government, and the five hundred letters which accompany the enteries for the governmental period. Gladstone's life-style made few concessions to his age: his reading, writing, theatre-going, and trips abroad continue, as do his speech-writing and his church-going. His declining eyesight eventually curtailed his reading and led to the end of regular diary-writing in 1894. His vast diary, which he began in 1825, ends in 1896. Its final entries are a moving conclusion to one of the most remarkable and one the most curious documents of British history.
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Seller's Description:
Book. Octavo; VG-/VG-; light gray spine with black text; volume 12; odd volume; first edition; first printing; dust jacket exterior shows slight handling wear with mild smudges; minor edge wear; faint toning to flaps; cloth exterior has minimal wear; gilt stamped lettering to spine; blind-stamped borders to front and rear; centered blind-stamped design to front board; mild lean to spine; textblock exterior edges have mild tone; letter 'y' in black marker to exterior tail edge; previous owner's notation to front endpaper; frontispiece; interior clean; illustrated; pp 535. 1368014. FP New Rockville Stock.