The Lion and the Unicorn: Gladstone Vs. Disraeli

This book was hard reading. By that I mean that it took a lot of effort to reach the halfway mark. From that point on, the narrative sped up and I found it hard to put down. This book is a facinating insight into two wholly dissimilar men, each with their private devils, each with their unique view on the country and how it should be run. I thoroughly recommend anyone to read it, and see for themselves that "there is nothing new under the sun" - for despite their vision and achievements, they were men with great weaknesses, and to some extent, far more worthy of support than today's British politicians.

Gripping narrative (0/0 people found this helpful)

As a relative newcomer to Victorian political history, I found this to be a fascinating introduction. The interweaving of the stories of these two heavyweights grips throughout, with the protagonists treated in a thoroughly even-handed manner. There may be nothing new as HBH says (although much of it was new to me), but great stories are often worth retelling as long as the telling is worth listening to - it certainly was in this case. I still wonder though, what was really going on with Gladstone and his relationships with those fallen women!

Moderate book but easy to read. (0/1 people found this helpful)

The Lion and the Unicorn is a moderate book which sheds light on the relationship between Disraeli and Gladstone. However it does not really offer anything new to say plus is written at times in a slightly off-putting style where he writes about the protaganists in the present tense like in a novel and then fades suddenly back into historical analysis. This is rather off-putting and takes away form what is an enjoyable book. The lack of anything new and interesting plus analysis also damages the book.

A delightful reminder of a pivotal relationship (11/11 people found this helpful)

There have been many biographies of Disraeli and Gladstone individually. Both sorts of biography necessarily contain considerable information about the other person, as it is impossible to understand one without some understanding of the other. But, with a few exceptions, such an exception being Lord Blake's biography of Disraeli, biographies tend to be written by partisans, people who particularly like the subject of their biography, or occasionally, people who particularly dislike the subject of their biography. So it is not easy to find a biography by an author who appreciates the perspective of both the subject and the principal antagonist of the subject. That leaves plenty of space for a book such as this one. In my view, this book has filled that space admirably.

It is a commonplace to observe that the relationship between Disraeli and Gladstone was pivotal to 19th century British politics. But that relationship is not an historical relic. One sees variations of it and the questions fundamental to it time and again, including the present time. Should Britain aspire to a leading role in the world or should it keep more to itself? To what extent should it be willing to use military force around the world? Exactly how should it interact with Europe? What are proper roles for the monarchy, for the Church of England, and for the House of Lords? What should be be the nature of the relationship between England and other parts of the United Kingdom? All of these issues were pivotal to Disraeli and Gladstone, both of them intelligent, skillful, thoughtful politicians who did not always agree with the views of their parties. This book brings the issues to life, trying to see why the two characters thought as they did.

Disraeli and Gladstone were also both remarkably colourful and interesting characters. Although both lived their political lives during the Victorian Era, the views of both were formed before that, with Disraeli in particular having much more in common with people like his hero Byron than with many of his contemporaries. And he was renowned for listening seriously to the views of women at a time when that was deeply unpopular. His views simply are not what one would normally imagine Victorian views to be, yet he lived his political life during the Victorian era, and Queen Victoria herself was particularly impressed by him. Gladstone was more a man of his time, but even so, his rabble-rousing electioneering is hardly what one usually associates with Victorian reserve. In my view, the book draws this all out in a fascinating and particularly enjoyable manner.

In short, I simply enjoyed the book immensely. Although I have read quite a few biographies of both Disraeli and Gladstone, the book had information that was new to me. I particularly appreciated the way in which it interleaved the stories, and I duly recommend the book whole-heartedly.

Gladstone Vs. Disraeli (0/0 people found this helpful)

This is a very refreshing read which manages to bring to life a period of history which I must confess to knowing very little about. I found the coverage of the key debates in the House of Commons genuinely gripping and the rivalry between the two men is developed to such an extent that I couldn't help but fall firmly on one side (Disraeli's) as though I were reading a well written novel.

My only reservations relate to the style of writing. Every chapter seems to begin with an anecdotal scene before reverting back to a more traditional historical narrative. I would guess that this style was chosen in a bid to make the book more appealing to a general readership, but from my own personal perspective I would have much preferred a more consistent historical narrative. Given the intense drama of the set pieces in parliament, I doubt the book would have suffered much with respects to holding its audience.

The Lion and the Unicorn: Gladstone Vs. Disraeli

R Aldous

Reader Reviews:

The end of an era (0/0 people found this helpful)

Gripping narrative (0/0 people found this helpful)

Moderate book but easy to read. (0/1 people found this helpful)

A delightful reminder of a pivotal relationship (11/11 people found this helpful)

Gladstone Vs. Disraeli (0/0 people found this helpful)

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