Edmund Gosse's House of Lords Diary 1904-06

FONTHILLISBN: 9781781559444
Price:
$79.99


Edited by C. J. Wright
Imprint: FONTHILL
Release Date:
Format: HARDBACK
Dimensions: 234 x 156 mm
Weight: 460 g
Pages: 208

Description

Edmund Gosse, author of the classic autobiography 'Father and Son', was appointed librarian of the House of Lords in 1904. Until 1906 he kept a diary of his experiences at Westminster. The manuscript, which has never been published before, is an unvarnished and highly entertaining account of the multitude of well-known characters he came across in Westminster, including Arthur Balfour, Herbert Asquith and Richard Haldane, who were his friends. It offers an unrivalled inside view of parliament and its workings from the unique and privileged perspective of Lords librarian. The diary covers the end of the Conservative administration and the Liberal landslide in 1906, after which Campbell-Bannerman became prime minister. This edition includes an introduction and notes.

C. J. Wright was a member of the British Library staff for over thirty years, specialising in Modern Political Papers. He retired as head of manuscripts in 2005. His books include 'George III' (2005) and (as co-editor) 'The Victoria Cross and The George Cross. The Complete History' (2013). He was editor of the 'British Library Journal' 1989-99.

Introduction: Preface; General Introduction; The Road to the Lords; Gosse's appointment as Librarian of the House of Lords; The House of Lords; The Library of the House of Lords; Gosse as Lords Librarian; Gosse and the Politicians; Gosse's retirement from the Lords and after; Gosse as Diarist; The political background to Gosse's Diary; The subsequent history of the Diary; Gosse's House of Lords Diary 1904-1906 (and later); Biographical Register of Significant Persons referred to in the Diary; Bibliography.

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