Highcliffe And The Stuarts

This is the 1,000-year saga of the remarkable Scottish family, who began as stewards, then became Stewarts, the Royal Stewarts, and finally Stuarts. They were remarkable not only for the continuity of the male line, which went for 26 generations without a break, but also for the 340 years that they held on to sovereign power. Yet, despite the longevity of the dynasty, the lives of many individuals were violent and short. Of the fourteen Stewart monarchs, eight failed to reach the age of fifty. Six of the fourteen died violent deaths, two were murdered, two executed and two killed in battle. Because of the tendency towards early death, the average age of accession was onlyl twenty-three, and six came to the throne before they were ten. Of the non-royals, over 100 were murdered and over 200 executed. It is a remarkable tale of tenacity and adaptability that has seen the family survive for 1,000 years. The Rises and Falls of the Royal Stewarts tells their fascinating tale with verve and drama.

The preeminent Wellington biographer presents a fascinating reassessment of the Duke’s most famous victory and his political career after Waterloo. The Duke of Wellington’s momentous victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo was the culminating point of a brilliant military career. Yet Wellington’s achievements were far from over. He commanded the allied army of occupation in France to the end of 1818, returned home to a seat in Lord Liverpool’s cabinet, and became prime minister in 1828. He later served as a senior minister in Robert Peel’s government and remained Commander-in-Chief of the Army for a decade until his death in 1852. In this richly detailed work, the second and concluding volume of Rory Muir’s definitive biography, the author offers a substantial reassessment of Wellington’s significance as a politician and a nuanced view of the private man behind the legendary hero. Muir presents new insights into Wellington’s determination to keep peace at home and abroad, achieved by maintaining good relations with the Continental powers, resisting radical agitation, and granting political equality to the Catholics in Ireland. Countering one-dimensional image of Wellington as a national hero, Muir paints a nuanced portrait of a man whose austere public demeanor belied his entertaining, gossipy, generous, and unpretentious private self.

This is not a traditional international relations text that deals with war, trade or power politics. Instead, this book offers an authoritative analysis of the social, cultural and intellectual aspects of diplomatic life in the age of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. It authoritatively illustrates several modes of Britain’s engagement with Europe, whether political, artistic, scientific, literary or cultural. Mori consults an impressively wide range of sources for this study including the private and official papers of 50 men and women in the British diplomatic service. Attention is given to topics rarely covered in diplomatic history such as the work and experiences of women and issues of national, regional and European identity This book will be essential reading for students and lecturers of the history of International Relations and will offer a fascinating insight in to the world of diplomatic relations to all those with an interest in British and European history.