| Synopsis: |
This selection of extracts (written between 1880 and 1895) from the unpublished journals of Lewis Harcourt is designed as a companion volume to "Harcourt and Son", the political biography of the Victorian statesman Sir William Harcourt published in 2004 (FDUP). Lewis Harcourt was the constant companion and confidential secretary of his father, who, during the period covered by these journals, was home secretary and chancellor of the exchequer in the last three of Gladstone's four Liberal governments. The journals provide an insider's view of the party politics of the period, since Lewis Harcourt was closely acquainted with all his father's colleagues, including John Morley, Joseph Chamberlain, Charles Dilke, and Gladstone himself. The journals were written daily and not subsequently corrected to incorporate hind-sight, nor intended for publication or even wider circulation. The entries are useful not only to students of late nineteenth-century British political history, but also to those interested in the social life of the late Victorian period.Lewis Harcourt was a keen theater- and operagoer, and was a welcome visitor in the town houses and country houses of the upper middle class and the aristocracy. The editor's aim has been to retain a reasonable proportion of the journal entries relating to these social activities. When Gladstone finally retired as prime minister and leader of the Liberal Party in 1894, Sir William Harcourt had a justifiable expectation of the succession. He had acted as the old man's deputy in the House of Commons, where he was popular with the Liberal backbenchers. However, the choice of a new prime minister lay within the Queen's prerogative, and, without consulting Gladstone, she invited Lord Rosebery, who was twenty years younger than Harcourt, to form a government. Rosebery's imperialist views reflected those of Lord Salisbury, the Conservative leader, and the Queen had insisted on his appointment as foreign secretary when Gladstone took office in 1892.Rosebery would not have accepted the royal invitation if his cabinet colleagues had refused to serve under him, but many of them had been alienated by Harcourt's overbearing manner in cabinet and were not prepared to accept him as prime minister. This was a bitter pill for both Harcourt and his son, who describes in great detail his strenuous, but unsuccessful, attempts to frustrate the appointment of Rosebery. Lewis Harcourt's influence on his father was in many ways an unhealthy one, since he encouraged the arrogance and insensitivity that infuriated colleagues. Father and son were very different temperamentally: Sir William Harcourt had a larger-than-life personality, with an exuberant sense of humor and an almost childish delight in life. Lewis Harcourt was a much colder, more calculating character, but perhaps surprisingly he seems to have been well liked and was a welcome guest. Perhaps, the secret is that he was a good listener, interested in social gossip. This makes the journals compelling reading. |