Gimson's Prime Ministers: Brief Lives From Walpole to Johnson

by Andrew Gimson

For the reader who has heard of such giants as Gladstone and Disraeli, and has drunk in a pub called the Palmerston, but has only the haziest idea of who these people were.

Discover the leaders who rose to the top, outfought their opponents, and displayed the enduring qualities that unite all prime ministers.

This spirited and entertaining aide-memoire offers a short, illuminating account of them all, bringing our parliamentary history to life as never before.

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction, Biography, Historical

314 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Jarvo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very readable book, and one I will definitely be returning to in the future. In exactly three hundred pages it contains brief biographical essays on all 54 British prime ministers from Walpole to May,and throughout it is insightful, even-handed, and entertaining, without ever letting the need to be funny get in the way of good judgement. I will confess that there are a number of aristocratic C18th prime ministers who I have forgotten already, but virtually every prime minister from the great reform bill has been brought into sharper focus. Palmerston, it seems, was not just a bellicose warmonger. Gladstone was probably the greatest chancellor we have ever had. All - or virtually all- of the office holders are people of immense ability, but are slaves to events and to the fickleness of popular opinion. Thus Chamberlain had a talent for social reform which might have rendered Atlee's welfare state unnecessary, had a weakness in the foreign policy area not intervened.
At the beginning and end of the book the author, makes brief but trenchant comments on the qualities needed to be prime minister and the robustness, or otherwise, of the system. Whatever their abilities, the author contends, the PM's position is weak. We ask them to do an impossible job and damn them at the first sign of failure. But the system remains strong because weakness is mercilessly exposed and it is very difficult for anyone to do the job so long they do irreperable damage (I'll make an exception for David Cameron). Something which the author doesn't comment on, but is staring you in the face as you read the book, is the extent to which class and background have held sway. It looks almost certain that the 55th Prime Minister will be the 20th to have been educated at Eton. It is more than 90 years since the franchise in the UK was extended to every adult citizen, but somehow we haven't quite yet achieved democracy. IMO.

[Sam Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book exemplifies the problem of Chancellor-worship and why British politics is fundamentally different from American politics, despite Tony Blair's attempt to presidentialise the office. Throughout history, the Prime Ministers of the UK have mostly been lame, uninspiring career politicians - usually men - who wrangle their way up the social ladder of their time in very unspectacular ways. It's only when we come to the late 20th-century that we get American-esque jokesters popping their heads up from the soil and even then it's muted compared to characters like Washington, Lincoln or Trump. The parliamentary system is far more suited to incremental change that ebbs and flows like a river. This makes our system better than America's, in my opinion, but it also makes writing about our leaders far less interesting. UK Prime Ministers do not have clearly defined 'eras'. Many come and go from the office like any other position in cabinet. Undoubtedly, this is changing, probably because of how American everything is becoming - it's as difficult to imagine Jimmy Carter having another go as President as it would be to imagine Jeremy Corbyn making a comeback - but, because most of this history concerns Prime Ministers before the advent of 24-hour news, it makes for somewhat anaemic and, frankly, confusing reading. This is not the fault of the author (he writes very nicely), just the fault of the premise. Of course, a book like this is bound to exist because, again, for all intents and purposes, we are all Americans - as a culture, we love 'the great men of history' angle, leaders who rule over decisively drawn periods of history, to the point that Grover Cleveland's non-consecutive Presidency feels like a historiographical typo - but just because something will exist doesn't mean it should.

[Asriel Wilde · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5, rounded down. Well-written with colourful, digestible and at times quite funny biographies, particularly in the case of the earlier prime ministers. However, in the later biographies (from Baldwin onwards?), Gimson’s biases begin to show to such an extent that it really let down the overall quality of the book.

Of course, when each biography is limited to 3-4 pages it is difficult to portray the intricacies of each prime minister’s tenure, however he very frequently lauded praise on, and deeply sympathised with, Conservative prime ministers, with biographies which were frankly fawning towards Churchill, Thatcher and Johnson. By contrast, he casts a shadow over the frequently shorter biographies of the Labour prime ministers, almost completely ignoring the many successes of Attlee who commonly outranks Churchill and depicting Wilson as unpopular, brusque and rude. Thatcher’s biography, by contrast, reads more as a ‘Res Gestae’.

I was aware of Gimson’s political leanings before reading this book and so was conscious that some bias may shine through. However, I was unprepared for the extent to which this would be the case and came away feeling disappointed. For a book which is so concise and unique in its span, this had the potential to be so much more.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I should have used as a companion whilst reading Trollope's Palliser series so as to better understand the parliamentary machinations of the late Victorian age he characterised so well. I loved this book which proved both informative and entertaining, and had a bit of Aubreyesque humour about it to boot. It is Brief Lives, after all.

[Emma Dargue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of Britain's prime ministers from Walpole to May as said in the title. Good overall information on each prime minister. However at some points I felt there was a definite squew in the way gimson wrote this book towards the right.

[Ashley Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable and informative slog. Very well written and never boring, and a great reminder that however bad things are, politics is cyclical. Interesting to see Gimson become less impartial and more opinionated from the last 30 or so years of the 20th Century.

[Matt Donnelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading Gimson's biographies of the monarchs, I decided to pick up his other two similar tomes. This compendium about British Prime Ministers was informative and I certainly learnt more about the people who used to run our country.
I enjoyed the first half of the book, when all the PMs clashed with the monarch and engaged in duels with their rivals. I was also intrigued to learn the origin of phrases such as squiffy and Bob's your uncle.
However, as the book went on, I found the essays to be quite repetitive and formulaic in their structure. Therefore I felt it was a bit of a slow to get through the final part of the book where knew the figures already.
Despite this, I still got through the book quite quickly and Martin Rowson's sketches were funnier and more scathing than in his previous collaboration with Gimson'.
Whilst not as engrossing as his monarch book, I still got enough from this to recommend it. Although I'm hoping to get more from his US presidents book which I'll be reading next.

[Alex L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read overall but the author's bias and clear love of certain figures is evident, most notably for the late 20th century PM's. Labour figures get less interesting narratives and fewer pages versus the Conservative ones. A good example is Clement Atlee, PM for over 5 years who gets fewer pages than Alex Douglas Home. The prose is also occasionally sloppy, and just a poorly masked attack on something the author doesn't like (The unions). Despite this, still the best on UK PM's

[Keegan Shepard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writing isn’t great, nor are all of his opinions. Learned a bit, however.

[KL Caley · Rating 5 out of 5]

My rating: 5 Stars (easily)
Genre: Non-Fiction – British Politics - History

📖 I am going against my own rules writing this review. Normally, I like to wait until after I finish a book, sometimes even a few weeks after to see how the book stays with me. I don’t like to recommend something that is instantly forgettable. However, with this book I am on page 260 of 310 (excluding the afterword) and decided to go ahead and write the review as I have found this book that interesting, I know I don’t have to wait until the end to recommend it. In fact, my OH is probably sick of me saying “Oh, I read about such and such last night did you know….”.

✍️ Firstly, I fully understand politics isn’t for everyone. Yet, I think understanding a little about politics does us in good stead as it impacts almost every aspect of our daily lives (knowingly or unknowingly). It’s always handy to have a bit of history behind a subject too. This book does all this and more easily.

👫 The book, as mentioned, is only 310 pages long but captures a little about every prime minister from Sir Robert Walpole through to Boris Johnson. It often tells you a little about what led up to them becoming prime minister, what others thought of them (often party and public opinion would differ in that respect), what big events happened during their time in office (often the handling of this would decide their legacy), and finally what happened to them causing them to leave office/after leaving office.

🗣 I often think it’s useful to see an extract of a book to get an idea of the writing style. Here is a brief extract so that you can see a sample of the writing yourself:

The prime minister requires, in fact, a bizarre combination of qualities. He or she must be at once ordinary and extraordinary, conventional and innovative, safe and audacious, banal and brilliant, a follower and a leader, sensitive to every change in the political weather but tough enough to endure terrible disasters, on the side of the people but able to build a cabinet from members of the elite.

👓 This book has so many interesting facts, I want to share so many snippets but here are a few of the more interesting ones:
• Earl Grey was a British Prime Minister (not just a type of tea) and brought about one of the most spectacular parliamentary legislative triumphs despite not becoming Prime Minister until the ripe old age of 66. He also had a secret affair with a duchess, when her husband found out Grey’s mother stepped in to raise the baby.
• The first time the term “Prime Minister” was used was in 1905 when the king asked Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (CB) to form a government.
• The term ‘squiffy’ is likely coined after Herbert Henry Asquith (PM 1908-1916) who was known to drink more than he could handle and was noticed to be worse for wear in the Dispatch Box.
• Winston Churchill has to take the entrance exam to join the army three times before passing.

🗺 Also enjoyable are the doodles of each PM which start each chapter.

💭 Overall View: A really interesting book with brilliant snippets that help capture the essence of each Prime Minister’s story. Well researched and easy to digest.

👍 Please leave a like if you think my review/feedback of the item was helpful to you. Alternatively, please contact me if you want me to clarify something in my review.

[The Humpo Show [ Richard ] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gimson’s Prime Ministers offers a concise, sharp-witted and illuminating account of the lives of Britain’s prime ministers from Walpole to May. This lively and entertaining book presents parliamentary history in a vivid and clear manner, helpful for anyone interested in the lives of the people that held the keys to 10 Downing Street.

This 300-page book covers all 54 British prime ministers from 1721 through to 2019, averaging just under six pages per PM, is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in gaining more knowledge about the history of Britain and its elected leaders.

There are the PMs that are looked on as successes, such as Pitt the Younger who faced down revolutionary France; Early Grey who oversaw the 1832 Reform Act and the abolition of slavery; and Winston Churchill, the man that successfully led the country against the rise of fascism. And there are others that are considered failures, deserved or otherwise, for example Lord North who presided over the loss of the American colonies; Anthony Eden who was humiliated during the Suez Crisis; and Theresa May, who is currently bungling the task that was left to her three years ago - Brexit.

Gimson provides the necessary details in the six pages that each PM gets. We read about their upbringing and education, their route into politics and the progression of said career, and finally, the important events of their prime ministership, policies and eventual downfall. His engaging writing style makes each chapter readable and...fun.

Like many people, my knowledge of Britain's past leaders is far from comprehensive. I've heard a great deal about Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill as they are still within living memory for many people in this country, and I obviously know enough about David Cameron, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair as they've held the office during my lifetime. But for others like Lord Bute, Lord Liverpool and Pitt the Elder, to name a few, I know practically nothing about them. And although, I'll have probably forgotten most of what I've read by this time next week, some important knowledge will hopefully stick in my head!

Gimson writes with great wit and elegance, and this is complemented by the funny and well depicted illustrations from Martin Rowson, helping to make it a great read and one I would definitely recommend.

[Rosalind Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

History wasn't like this at school!

I wish it had been. Andrew Gimson has breathed life into the cardboard cut outs of early Prime Ministers and has very successfully drawn together an essence of each of those still living today. His warts and all approach is refreshing for his honesty but also for his distillation of their lives and characters within each short sketch. Names of 'boring' men that plagued my O-level History lessons have taken on life and colour and sixty years later make sense to the bigger picture. Congratulations Andrew Gimson! I loved your prequel about England's monarchs since 1066 and didn't think its sequel would be so absorbing - but it was. The scandalously brilliant cartoons sharpened my appetite to read on. If history lessons could only have been like Gimson's books...

[Mike Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

300 pages covering 54 British Prime Ministers from 1721 through to today, at an average of 6 pages per PM it is an excellent pick up put down book. There are the little known but very effective PMs, and little known but disastrous PMs, for example Lord North who presided over the loss of the American colonies. It could be an excellent reference for followers of series such as "Victoria" and "Queen".
The comparative ease with which ineffective PMs can be removed (peacefully) from office should be a source of wonder to followers of the US Constitution.
Two edits, I was remiss to omit Martin Rowson’s wonderful caricatures of the pm's. And sadly when I went to Amazon.com I found out that the book has limited availability. I hope this gets "fixed"






There are the

[Paul Forrest · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute delight, from start to finish. I found something interesting and new to me, on almost every page. The author is a Telegraph journalist. I am a Guardian reader. On the assumption the author leans more towards the politics of his usual readership, I nevertheless found little to object to in the portraits of the PMs I am most familiar with. On the strength of Prime Ministers, I am tempted to read his biography of the awful Boris Johnson, although I'm not sure that's wise, given the teeth grinding nightmares it's bound to provoke.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An neatly potted history of Britain's Prime Ministers. I amused myself guessing which of these PM's were the authors favourites - Churchill and Thatcher are amongst them I'd guess - If you're interested in UK politics this would be a good place to start. I might well have a look at a similar book about Kings and Queens. I should also note that Martin Rowson's illustrations/caricatures were excellent.

[Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent, informative overview of all the British PM’s from Walpole to May, each of whom get at least 2-3 pages to summarise their achievements and failings. The author is always refreshingly blunt, and although he does have to skirt over or barely mention very important details, lack of space makes this inevitable. There are, of course, deeper biographies for all that.
An ideal book for the casual reader or for people who need a quick, solid overview of British politics.

[Oscar Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written history of British Prime Ministers: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Brevity is this book’s strength — feeding the reader just enough information to understand unfamiliar men and their relationship with, and place within parliament. A timeline would’ve been a helpful inclusion, but the very clever illustrations were a lovely addition.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very pithy and enjoyable, a pen portrait of every British Prime Minister that lays bare each of their graces and ills, exposing them ultimately as fallible human beings. The Martin Rowson illustrations are wonderful.

[James A Kirby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gimson drops humour for biography and fails.

I had hoped for greater zest or insight. Probably too difficult for the topic.apparenty 6 more words are needed so here they are. Pick you favourites.

[Laurence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. Good introduction to those Prime Ministers rarely heard of, but enough insight into the recent and famous for those parts to be engaging also.
Conveyed narrative of overall sweep of UK political history as well as detail about each prime minister. Excellent cartoons.

[John Hayward · Rating 4 out of 5]

The problem with Andrew Gimson's Prime Ministers is, while full of entertaining anecdotes about the very different individuals who have led our country throughout the last 300 years, from Walpole to May, it typically leaves one wanting very much more in each case.

[Garry Marlton · Rating 5 out of 5]

To me ths is brilliant. Just enough information to get the juices flowing and I looked forward to the next prime minister. Some wonderfull facts.

[Matthew Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

A no better guide to all our PMs can be found and a fair and balanced trawl through them all.

[Jane Wilkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise and entertaining summary of the life of every British prime minister from Walpole to Theresa May.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps the best book on PM's I've ever read; It's a brief and detailed introduction that seems adequately non-biased to each PM, Just what I was looking for.

[Tomos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the Presidents, way better than Kings and Queens.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and easy to read.

[Yvonne Clemson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, amusing, interesting, gave a different outlook on many of the PMs I have lived through. As well as insights into historical events I've heard of but no more than that. Recommended!

[Mia · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5 stars)

[Derek McRonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely interesting showing how the role evolved over the last couple of hundered years . In short consise chapters helps to understand the impact of each Prime Minister of present day Britain