Robert Peel

A Biography

By: Douglas Hurd

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Paperback | 12 June 2008 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback
448 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
3.6 x 13.6 x 21.6

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Described as one of the 19th century’s most dynamic prime ministers, Robert Peel transformed Great Britain into a modern nation. He invented the police force, steered through legislation that allowed Catholics to sit in Parliament, reorganized the criminal justice system, and invented the Conservative Party as it exists today. Above all he tackled poverty by repealing the Corn Laws and, thanks to Peel, Britain chose free trade and opened the door for globalization. For all his achievements, however, Peel was not all politics: he built two great houses, filled them with famous paintings, and was devoted to his beautiful wife. Yet he was widely regarded as stiff and strange, with Queen Victoria describing him as “such a cold, odd man” while Disraeli attacked him for dishonesty. But when in 1850 he was carried home after a fall from his horse, crowds primarily composed of working people gathered outside his house to read the medical bulletins. When he died a few days later, factories closed, flags flew at half mast, and thousands contributed small sums to memorials in his honor. Like Peel, Douglas Hurd served as Home Secretary and lived through a time of conflict in the Conservative Party. With one eye on the present, Douglas Hurd charts Peel's life and work through the dramas of 19th century politics.

Industry Reviews

[An] impressive and entertaining biography -- John Stevens * THE TIMES *
Hurd delivers a vivid and readable portrait of a semi-modern British titan. This biography is elegantly written -- Simon Sebag Montefiore * NEW STATESMAN *
The author has a good grasp of the period, he has done a great deal of homework, and he has shaped the story magnificently -- A. N. Wilson * DAILY MAIL *
[A] fascinating, eminently readable biography of Peel * ECONOMIST *
This warm, sensible biography of Peel does a fine job of rescuing an important figure from relative obscurity -- Dominic Sandbrook * DAILY TELEGRAPH *
Intelligent, rich reading with a lovely droll tone -- Duncan Fallowell * DAILY EXPRESS *
Hurd writes well, and the book has the merit of bringing Peel alive as a human being -- Jane Ridley * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *
The book is rich in every respect -- Mark Stuart * THE SCOTSMAN *

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