William Pitt the Younger: A Biography

Pitt the Younger by William Hauge is an interesting book dealing with one of the heroes of British politics. It describes the life of a man who devoted his short life to running the country in one of its hours of need. Although it perhaps lacks the analysis you find in some biographies it is all in all a very good book which is easy to read and will increase most reader's knowledge of this quite remarkable man.

Hague on Pitt (7/8 people found this helpful)

It is easy to see why William Hague reveres the memory of William Pitt the Younger and perhaps seems something of himself in him. Both were recognised as prococious talent early in their political careers, both were possessed of quick wit and intelligence, both dedicated their lives to politics at an early age. Hague hung Pitt's portrait in the Shadow Cabinet, hoping perhaps that some of his hero's skill in winning and maintaining power would rub off on him and his colleagues. When Hague was asked to write his memoirs after resigning as Tory leader in 2001, he dismissed the idea as ridiculous for a 40 year old, and chose instead to write about the prime minister regarded as the father of the Conservative Party.

Hague tells the story of the younger Pitt's short but astonishing life with great skill and lucidity, supplying parallels and contrasts with the modern political age. It is a fascinating account, not only of the life of Pitt, but also of British politics in general in the late eighteenth century. The circumstances in which Pitt became Prime Minister were extraordinary at the time, and would of course be completely impossible now. At this juncture considerable power still remained in the hands of the sovereign, and after the deadweight first two Georges, King George III had an almost Stuart-like determination to fully exercise the powers vested in him. He chose a moment to dismiss a government he did not like, that of Lord North and Charles James Fox, and to install the 24 year old William Pitt.

The story of how this youth managed to hold together a government against an indignant opposition, who still controlled the Commons, for long enough to win over a working majority is fascinating in its own right. Pitt, working with the King, managed gradually to consolidate the new government until the moment was right to dissolve Parliament and use the considerable powers available to incumbent prime ministers to ensure a clear majority in the subsequent House of Commons. He remained in office, with a short break, until his untimely death at 46.

Among the strengths that made Pitt such a political success were his remarkable oratory powers in the Commons, his shrewd use of the powers of patronage available to him and his innovative approaches to solving the nation's financial woes in the wake of the military catastrophe of the American War. It would be incorrect to say he was incorruptable - more accurately he had no regard for his personal financial situation, and died with huge debts. But he was quite comfortable with offering honours or financial incentives to those whom he knew would be motivated by them.

A criticism of Hague's work might be that too little time is spent on conclusions. The reader is left wondering why William Pitt the Younger should be regarded as a "great" prime minister. He was a brilliant speaker and his shrewdness in defending his position from his opponents was legendary. Statistically his position in British history is unassailable, having come to office at such a young age, and served as prime minister for a little short of nineteen years. But these things do not on their own make a great prime minister. Critics can point to his record of internal repression during the long war with revolutionary France and to his failure to legislate on any of the three great liberal causes which he professed to support - Catholic emancipation, parliamentary reform, and the abolition of the slave trade. The fact that the last of these was already accepted in principle by most of the British ruling class, and passed quickly into law after his death makes his tardiness hard to forgive.

The last great criticism of Pitt is his failure to read the military strength of France in 1793 and his consequential willingless to take Britain back to war with her old enemy. Pitt was convinced that France was bankrupt and would not be able to stand for long against a united European coalition. All his good work in paying back the national debt in the 1780s was undone, and if it was not for the newly created wealth of the industrial revolution, Britain would have bled itself to death bribing Austria and Prussia to remain in the field. As it was he was able to bridge the gap with his most enduring innovation - income tax.

Whatever the reader's conclusion about the William Pitt the Younger, Hague has written an excellent first book. One hopes that he will publish more.

pitt the younger (3/17 people found this helpful)

A very well rearched book but the writing style is as stimulating as William's speaking presentations: flat and boring. He should get some help on how to write in a stimulating manner - and to speak. After three pages of hs book my eyes were drooping. I got about half way through and then binned it.

Thorough not thoughtful (30/33 people found this helpful)

William Hague's biography of Pitt covers all the territory that a biography should cover. He discusses Pitt's political career- his squabbles with his Lord Chancellor Thurloe and his iconic struggle with Napoleon as well as discussing the little that there was of Pitt's private life the Eden affair and his longstanding friendships with men like Dundas and Wilberforce. Hague's biography though curiously lacks a sense of who Pitt was. By that I mean not that he does not understand the way that Pitt sought politically to maintain his position, but that he doesn't show us why and what Pitt sought to do. Just like Roy Jenkins on Gladstone we don't get a sense of Pitt's engagement with his intellectual context- what did he think of Smith's ideas about wealth etc. We get the policies but not the policy. Just like Jenkins relied upon the pioneering work of Matthews and synthesised it inexpertly, so Hague relies on the great work done by John Ehrmann and again this is a summary of Ehrman's findings. If you are interested in Pitt, by all means turn to this as a rather pedestrian introduction but read Ehrman's study afterwards to really understand. The dissapointment is in his failure to use his experience of politics to tell us much that is interesting about Pitt. Instead he seeks respectability through a repetition of fact after fact, he needs to become respected as a historian to think a little more clearly about what his thesis is. This book could not, Hague doesn't have the expertise, be a detailed monograph- he sets out for it to be, what would have been more interesting would have been an interesting essay on Pitt. He should have dared to be wrong a little more, imagine a little more, and wagered less on respectability

He Wears the Rose of Youth Upon Him, (59/62 people found this helpful)

There was something astonishingly particular about Pitt the Younger. The second son of the Earl of Chatman (Pitt the Elder) was a child prodigy. He was admitted to Cambridge at age 14, elected to Parliament at age 21 and appointed Prime Minister at age 24. Twenty-two years later, of which twenty were spent as Prime Minister, Pitt died at age 46.

William Hague was something of a prodigy himself. He gave his first major political address at a Conservative Party Conference in 1977 at age 16. Hague was elected to Parliament at age 28 and became the Tory party leader at age 36, the youngest party leader in 200 years. Hague's rhetorical skills, like Pitt the Younger, are excellent. Some observers (not all of them Conservatives) believed that Hague regularly bested Labour P.M. Tony Blair in debates in the House of Commons. After losing the 2001 general election and the leadership of his party Hague was asked to write his Memoirs. He indicated that an autobiography was approximately 40 years premature and sat down to write the biography of his idol Pitt the Younger instead.

Hague has done an excellent job here. Although meticulously researched this is a readable, popular biography. Hague's prose style is precise and flows very smoothly.

Hague quickly takes us through Pitts early years and the events surrounding his first election to Parliament. His impact on Parliament was soon felt and within two years King George III twice asked Pitt to form a new government. It was only when Pitt was certain that he could maintain control of a new government that Pitt accepted the King's offer when it was made for the third time.

The first nine years of Pitt's leadership were turbulent but peaceful and it was as a peacetime leader that Pitt demonstrated enormous administrative skills. Pitt virtually created the mechanism by which any government oversees its finances. By the end of that nine-year period Britain's financial position was better than it had ever been before. It was this financial strength that facilitated Britain's survival during the three crises that marked the remaining years of Pitt's time in office: the madness of King George III, the foreign and domestic trials created by the French Revolution and the even greater trials created in the wake of the rise to power of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Hague's narrative style is straight forward and informative as he discusses Pitt's response to these crises. The complexity of the parliamentary and political system of 18th century Britain was Byzantine to say the least. However, Hague, because of his experience in Parliament, was able to explain those complexities without detracting from his narrative. This is no small accomplishment.

One of the most important aspects of the book for me was the discussion of the relationship between Pitt and his major adversary during his entire premiership, Charles James Fox. Hague's discussion of that relationship made Fox quite appealing in many respects. As Pitt steered Britain from crisis to crisis he turned increasingly to repressive measures (squashing free speech, toughening sedition laws and limiting the right to free assembly) to ensure Britain's security from perceived external threats to its security. The largest threat of course was that of the anti-monarchical forces unleashed by the French Revolution. Throughout Fox's years as the leader of the opposition he fought Pitt's repressive legislation every step of the way. Fox stood squarely on the side of free speech and was opposed to attempts to sacrifice his fellow citizens' freedoms on the mere declamation of a threat to security. He kept losing those battles but he did fight the good fight.

The battle over the balance between freedom and security is one that confronts us today. Hague's concluding analysis discusses this issue at some length. He is of course favorable to Pitt and defends him admirably. It takes nothing away from the quality of Hague's writing to note that I fell more squarely into the Fox camp.

Hague pays a good deal of attention to Pitt's personal life, particularly his drinking. He was reported to have downed three bottles of Port a day. There is little doubt that this undoubted alcoholism played a role in Pitt's early death. Hague also spends time discussing the lack of women in Pitt's life. He does not shy away from the issue and analyzes in some detail the close relationship he had with his male colleagues. I felt Hague's conclusions, that Pitt was one of those rare totally chaste people whose entire life was focused on one thing and one thing only, to be well founded if a bit speculative.

Hague has indicated that he intended and expected this book to be a popular history that could be enjoyed by any reader. This book lived up to Hague's expectations and also to mine. I recommend this book to anyone with any interest in British history. It is enjoyable and well worth reading.

William Pitt the Younger: A Biography

William Hague

Reader Reviews:

An interesting biography (1/2 people found this helpful)

Hague on Pitt (7/8 people found this helpful)

pitt the younger (3/17 people found this helpful)

Thorough not thoughtful (30/33 people found this helpful)

He Wears the Rose of Youth Upon Him, (59/62 people found this helpful)

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