Balfour: The Last Grandee by R.J.Q. Adams (2013-08-06) Paperback – 1 Jan. 1788

Lucidly written, meticulously researched and pacy. There is a real sense of period and place. Balfour is a lasting mystery, but a well drawn and recognisable character, albeit one of immense reserve. His philosophy seems rather superficial, especially when you consider that Russell and Moore were contemporaries. A bit of a dabbler?The author repeats the false claim that Nancy Astor was the first female MP. Strange.I found the lack of context and comment quite frustrating at times. A multimillionaire who literally sends in a gunboat to the Western Isles to help collect rent? A philosopher who wants to enforce the law in Ireland like Cromwell(?!) but who reflects little on justice? A man who believes in law and order but sanctions a virtual shoot to kill policy? A politician who saw Ireland as west Britain but seemingly ignores the centuries of asset stripping, famine and penal laws that gave it a very different profile? A man who seems shocked by Parnell's adultery but never by the ubiquitous adultery of his own social caste? I could go on.Maybe a book to share and discuss. Certainly a compelling read.

Well written and interesting

Well written but not a page turner. Interesting because it demonstrates the development of a late 19th century upper class politician who because Prime Minister in turbulent times.

A very informative read

Bought as Christmas present

A most readable biography of one of the most important British statesmen of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Perhaps the author should be more critical of Balfour’s years as prime minister, and of his later misreading of the politics of the Middle East, but the judgements overall are shrewd and the writing always lucid.

Prof. Adams provides the most accurate account ever of this now extinct (as the subtitle indicates) yet facinating breed of politician. A born aristocrat who literally inherited the premiership from his uncle, Balfour served as Tory leader for twenty years during which time he led his party's futile campaign against Irish nationalism and endorsed the Conservatives' suicidal reversion to support for high tariffs which Disraeli had rightly concluded were not only dead but damned. Yet, Balfour championed progressive views on education, was facinated by science and technology and became an outstanding Foreign Secretary under Lloyd George. One can see Balfour, unlike most Victorians, easily settling into today's world consulting a laptop computer while riding in the back of a chauffeured Bentley.

Balfour remains an enigmatic figure. As a mass of contradictions he still poses problems to historians, who are invariably left wondering which diversion he considered his true calling; politician or philosopher? This sense of unease shows itself in every book written on Balfour and, though to a lesser extent, Adams' new biography is no exception. Although not so dazzled by his subject as Max Egremont, whose biography is still a useful introduction to Balfour's life and career, Adams reveals little of the man that was not already known. Happily, he avoids idle speculation regarding Balfour's emotional life and concentrates instead on a refreshingly objective and elegant study of his political beliefs and achievements. This is by far the best biography on Balfour and, although it offers little detailed study of his political career or philosophical outlook, as a general survey of his life and career is unlikely to be bettered.

R.J.Q. Adams' BALFOUR: The Last Grandee is a fine book. However, I strongly recommend reading Kenneth Young's 1963 biography before pursuing Adam's work. Young does a superb job of analyzing Balfour's philosophical volumes; as well, Young takes the reader back to the era in which Balfour lived and practiced philosophy, politics and the art of life. There is something rather too modern and easy-going about Adams' style of writing which does not suit the subject matter. Taken together, both books provide the reader and the serious historian with a broad and yet detailed sensibility of Arthur James Balfour.