William Pitt the Younger

The Sunday Times bestselling biography of one of the towering figures in British history who became Prime Minister at the age of twenty-four, written by the youngest-ever leader of the Tory Party. The younger William Pitt -- known as the 'schoolboy' -- began his days as Prime Minister in 1783 deeply underestimated and completely beleaguered. Yet he annihilated his opponents in the General Election the following year and dominated the governing of Britain for twenty-two years, nearly nineteen of them as Prime Minister. No British politician since then has exercised such supremacy for so long. Pitt presided over dramatic changes in the country's finances and trade, brought about the union with Ireland, but was ultimately consumed by the years of debilitating war with France. Domestic crises included unrest in Ireland, deep division in the royal family, the madness of the King and a full-scale naval mutiny. He enjoyed huge success, yet died at the nadir of his fortunes, struggling to maintain a government beset by a thin majority at home and military disaster abroad; he worked, worried and drank himself to death. Finally his story is told with the drama, wit and authority it deserves.

ISBN 0007147201   DEWEY edition DC22 ISBN13 9780007147205 (What's this?)   Pages 688 Publisher HarperCollins Publishers   Weight (grammes) 489 Imprint HarperPerennial   Published in London Format Paperback   Height (mm) 197 Publication date 03 May 2005   Width (mm) 130 DEWEY 941.073092   Academic level General

'A weighty and scholarly biography ... the empathy, indeed the identification of subject with author, is remarkable. Hague deserves an accolade ... he has written a serious, detailed and thoughtful study of one of Britain's greatest prime ministers' Guardian 'Truly fine ... The need for a distinguished, readable, single-volume work has long been recognised. William Hague has now triumphantly filled this gap' Scotsman

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