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Melbourne
Lord Melbourne was Prime Minister from 1843-1835 and was a kind friend and guide to the young Victoria on her accession. Earlier he was married to Lady Caroline Lamb, the mistress of Byron. He played an important role in the social and political history of England.
450 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1939
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
June 9, 2015
Lord David Cecil's Melbourne is a stunningly, beautiful tribute to its subject. Readers who believe in egalitarian democracy will find it to be balderdash from beginning to end but must still concede that it is radiant balderdash. Moreover, the book provides a glorious account of the turbulent romance of his wife Caroline Lamb with the great poet Byron as well as a moving description of his tender relationship with the young Queen Victoria. All in all, for those can resist cynicism, Melbourne pleases as few biographies can.
In Cecil's view Melbourne was the quintessential Whig Aristocrat. With his passing a golden age in the history of Europe and England passed. In his introduction, Cecil explains that the Whig Aristocrats of the Eighteenth Century were a sublime group that provided English society with civilized and enlightened leadership. They were libertine yet highly moral. They vigorously defended the privileges of their caste while governing in the best interest of all their countrymen. They could curse without being vulgar or offensive. They write books and compose poetry without becoming literati. They were tough but honest as politicians. In a word, they were divine.
Melbourne's great problem was that he was a man of the eighteenth century who had to live in the nineteenth century which meant coping with the industrial revolution, trade unions, and a growing democratization of the political process which a steadily diminishing role for England's aristocracy in the governing of the country. According to Cecil Melbourne was a profound realist. There was nothing he could do to prevent the march of history but he could slow it and ensure that England evolved in a peaceful, progressive manner rather than undergo a destructive revolutionary era as the French did and later the Russians would. Cecil describes how Melbourne consistently supported progressive laws in the British parliament always with the goal of conceding enough to the Radicals that they would be satisfied while being sure never to give them too much. Whenever, the Lords rejected one of his progressive bills, he lamented in public and smiled inwardly.
The prime reason for many to read this biography is that it covers the wild romance between Lord Byron and Melbourne's dazzling wife Lady Caroline Lamb. While politics appear at time to bore Cecil, he attacks this aspect of Melbourne's with energy, enthusiasm and exquisite detail. Lady Caroline delights with her mixture of vivacity and madness. Byron is opportunistic in a Childe-like fashion while Melbourne suffers in the most exquisite way imaginable.
Cecil also provides a wonderful account of Melbourne's close friendship with the young Queen Victoria. Having grown up in a bizarre home with a loopy mother, Queen Victoria desperately needed an older mentor when she acceded to the throne at the age of eighteen. Melbourne according to Cecil assumed the mentorship role in an entirely disinterested manner. He never tried to manipulate her. Rather he skillfully trained her in the art of managing prime ministers and this way made a significant contribution to her brilliant career as a constitutional monarch.
I am personally a very middle class person who rejoices in the fact that middle class attitudes now dominate our arts and politics. Nonetheless, I have to acknowledge that Cecil pleads very eloquently the case for aristocratic culture and government. I buy none of it but admire his verve.
In Cecil's view Melbourne was the quintessential Whig Aristocrat. With his passing a golden age in the history of Europe and England passed. In his introduction, Cecil explains that the Whig Aristocrats of the Eighteenth Century were a sublime group that provided English society with civilized and enlightened leadership. They were libertine yet highly moral. They vigorously defended the privileges of their caste while governing in the best interest of all their countrymen. They could curse without being vulgar or offensive. They write books and compose poetry without becoming literati. They were tough but honest as politicians. In a word, they were divine.
Melbourne's great problem was that he was a man of the eighteenth century who had to live in the nineteenth century which meant coping with the industrial revolution, trade unions, and a growing democratization of the political process which a steadily diminishing role for England's aristocracy in the governing of the country. According to Cecil Melbourne was a profound realist. There was nothing he could do to prevent the march of history but he could slow it and ensure that England evolved in a peaceful, progressive manner rather than undergo a destructive revolutionary era as the French did and later the Russians would. Cecil describes how Melbourne consistently supported progressive laws in the British parliament always with the goal of conceding enough to the Radicals that they would be satisfied while being sure never to give them too much. Whenever, the Lords rejected one of his progressive bills, he lamented in public and smiled inwardly.
The prime reason for many to read this biography is that it covers the wild romance between Lord Byron and Melbourne's dazzling wife Lady Caroline Lamb. While politics appear at time to bore Cecil, he attacks this aspect of Melbourne's with energy, enthusiasm and exquisite detail. Lady Caroline delights with her mixture of vivacity and madness. Byron is opportunistic in a Childe-like fashion while Melbourne suffers in the most exquisite way imaginable.
Cecil also provides a wonderful account of Melbourne's close friendship with the young Queen Victoria. Having grown up in a bizarre home with a loopy mother, Queen Victoria desperately needed an older mentor when she acceded to the throne at the age of eighteen. Melbourne according to Cecil assumed the mentorship role in an entirely disinterested manner. He never tried to manipulate her. Rather he skillfully trained her in the art of managing prime ministers and this way made a significant contribution to her brilliant career as a constitutional monarch.
I am personally a very middle class person who rejoices in the fact that middle class attitudes now dominate our arts and politics. Nonetheless, I have to acknowledge that Cecil pleads very eloquently the case for aristocratic culture and government. I buy none of it but admire his verve.
October 20, 2016
This probably deserves a three overall, but I can't bring myself to do it, which probably says something. Worth it and I really hope I get to review this soon.
February 9, 2011
Cecil transports us to the very highest strata of early Victorian society; Melbourne was Victoria's first prime minister and treated the young queen with courtesy, humor and wisdom. She trusted him and support his Whig policies. She did not like Peel or Gladstone but succumbed to Disraeli's charms.
The chapter that shows Melbourne in his declining years is perhaps one of the saddest I have read; it is perhaps what Mr. Chips encountered when he aged and saw new generations of teachers and students that did not have the same connection with "Chippie."
The chapter that shows Melbourne in his declining years is perhaps one of the saddest I have read; it is perhaps what Mr. Chips encountered when he aged and saw new generations of teachers and students that did not have the same connection with "Chippie."
August 12, 2014
Absolutely fascinating biography of a man I knew very little about. Cecil has a very easy chatty style which makes the history very accessible. I felt a great deal of personal sympathy for Melbourne and whilst his early life was interesting it was his later relationship with Queen Victoria which really made the book special. I found the revelations about how important they were to each other quite spellbinding and would love to see that portrayed in a film or drama series. A book I would happily read again.
January 22, 2015
An utterly marvellous book, my copy of which was given to me by my godfather from his school's history library when he retired as head of department. Lord David Cecil presents an excellent life of one of Britain's least-known and most underrated First Lords of the Treasury: William, Lord Melbourne. Sometimes sad, as when discussing Lady Caroline Lamb's post-marital conduct, sometimes funny, as when dealing with Melbourne's reactions to Anabaptists, Puseyites, and Canadian rebellions, and sometimes very touching, as when describing the contents of some of Lord Melbourne's last letters to his beloved Queen, this book is, without any shadow of a doubt, worth not only buying but devouring if ever the chance presents itself. I've given it five stars, purely and simply because that's as many as were offered.
June 1, 2018
I can't imagine that any publisher today would agree to release this kind of grotesque hot air. I reluctantly made it halfway through, and the great majority of that was the author unleashing relentless torrents of his own conclusions, usually without any hint of what objective evidence he was basing them on. In short, the author is breathtakingly pompous. Melbourne was apparently one of the most thoughtful and delightful personalities in British history, and his mentorship of the young Queen Victoria would make him even more interesting, but this author's adoration of his own presumed abilities to use reasoning and flowery language utterly smothers his subject.
June 13, 2021
I knew of Lord Melbourne from the story of Queen Victoria. He was her first prime minister, who provided advice and companionship that the 18-yr-old queen desperately needed… and also encouraged (or was unable to prevent) her inappropriate partisanship. Much earlier in his life, “Lord M” was married to Caroline Lamb when she had her scandalous and very public affair with Lord Byron, on which she then based a couple of lurid gothic novels.
The first half of this book was published in 1939, the second in 1954; together they cover Melbourne’s life from his school days, through his tumultuous marriage, through his political career which culminated in the office of Prime Minister in his 50’s, and then to his retirement and decline. The style is a little old fashioned and dreamy in places, but it’s an engaging read.
The prologue is a long essay about the Whig aristocracy, “a unique product of English civilization… before all things a governing class” from which Lord M emerged. They were wealthy, educated, stylish and social; they tended towards atheism; they were unchaste; and they were England’s ministers, MPs, and ambassadors.
When William Lamb became heir to his father’s title (even though his mother was one of the unchaste and he was “universally supposed to be Lord Egremont’s son”) upon the death of his older brother, he married (too young, in the author’s opinion) Lady Caroline Ponsonby, a niece of the Duchess of Devonshire. He admired her whimsical vitality and ethereal beauty, but “her character was of a kind to make her an unsatisfactory wife for any man.” She was capricious, self-centered, unrealistic, wildly unstable, and her flamboyant affair with Byron stood out in a society rife with adultery.
Lord M’s political creed can be summed up as follows: “I like what is tranquil and stable.” He was “profoundly sceptical as to the value of human activity of any kind, politics most of all”, and while in office “the only measures he enthusiastically approved were those for removing restrictions.”
He was disappointed (but not surprised) at the lack of tranquility and stability in Ireland following the Catholic Emancipation, “in spite of the fact that the Irish had been given what they asked for”.
“Social reform bored Melbourne and he did not think it did any good… Peace and quiet, as always, were the things he cared most about; and any sympathy he might personally feel with a man or with his opinions was kept strictly in check by his overriding determination to avoid a fuss.”
He was 57 years old, and finally prime minister, when Victoria came to the throne, and he was profoundly affected by their relationship. He lavished fatherly tenderness on her: “The Queen amused him and touched him and stirred his admiration and won his heart.” We know the most about Melbourne during these years because Victoria, “a born reporter”, kept a detailed diary and her entries describe him intimately.
As Victoria gained confidence Melbourne lost some of his early influence. He failed to restrain Victoria during the infamous Flora Hastings affair; and failed to reconcile her to Peel when his party fell, and she stubbornly refused to replace some of her Whig Ladies in Waiting.
Melbourne’s family rallied around him as his health declined in retirement, but he necessarily lost most contact with Victoria when he left office. (Prince Albert “had now effectively replaced Melbourne in her affections; so much so that she somehow felt she had been disloyal in ever having been so fond of Melbourne at all.”)
At the end, the author imagines Melbourne “in a bitter-sweet mood of recollection”. His death in 1848 “made little stir… The world was changing fast in the nineteenth century... he had outlived his time.”
I read this book on the kindle, but on my next trip to the used bookstore I picked up a 1954 edition in good condition, which has illustrations that the ebook is missing.
The first half of this book was published in 1939, the second in 1954; together they cover Melbourne’s life from his school days, through his tumultuous marriage, through his political career which culminated in the office of Prime Minister in his 50’s, and then to his retirement and decline. The style is a little old fashioned and dreamy in places, but it’s an engaging read.
The prologue is a long essay about the Whig aristocracy, “a unique product of English civilization… before all things a governing class” from which Lord M emerged. They were wealthy, educated, stylish and social; they tended towards atheism; they were unchaste; and they were England’s ministers, MPs, and ambassadors.
When William Lamb became heir to his father’s title (even though his mother was one of the unchaste and he was “universally supposed to be Lord Egremont’s son”) upon the death of his older brother, he married (too young, in the author’s opinion) Lady Caroline Ponsonby, a niece of the Duchess of Devonshire. He admired her whimsical vitality and ethereal beauty, but “her character was of a kind to make her an unsatisfactory wife for any man.” She was capricious, self-centered, unrealistic, wildly unstable, and her flamboyant affair with Byron stood out in a society rife with adultery.
Lord M’s political creed can be summed up as follows: “I like what is tranquil and stable.” He was “profoundly sceptical as to the value of human activity of any kind, politics most of all”, and while in office “the only measures he enthusiastically approved were those for removing restrictions.”
He was disappointed (but not surprised) at the lack of tranquility and stability in Ireland following the Catholic Emancipation, “in spite of the fact that the Irish had been given what they asked for”.
“Social reform bored Melbourne and he did not think it did any good… Peace and quiet, as always, were the things he cared most about; and any sympathy he might personally feel with a man or with his opinions was kept strictly in check by his overriding determination to avoid a fuss.”
He was 57 years old, and finally prime minister, when Victoria came to the throne, and he was profoundly affected by their relationship. He lavished fatherly tenderness on her: “The Queen amused him and touched him and stirred his admiration and won his heart.” We know the most about Melbourne during these years because Victoria, “a born reporter”, kept a detailed diary and her entries describe him intimately.
As Victoria gained confidence Melbourne lost some of his early influence. He failed to restrain Victoria during the infamous Flora Hastings affair; and failed to reconcile her to Peel when his party fell, and she stubbornly refused to replace some of her Whig Ladies in Waiting.
Melbourne’s family rallied around him as his health declined in retirement, but he necessarily lost most contact with Victoria when he left office. (Prince Albert “had now effectively replaced Melbourne in her affections; so much so that she somehow felt she had been disloyal in ever having been so fond of Melbourne at all.”)
At the end, the author imagines Melbourne “in a bitter-sweet mood of recollection”. His death in 1848 “made little stir… The world was changing fast in the nineteenth century... he had outlived his time.”
I read this book on the kindle, but on my next trip to the used bookstore I picked up a 1954 edition in good condition, which has illustrations that the ebook is missing.
February 3, 2008
Finally, on a slightly different tangent, I was reading GRACE AND POWER by Sally Bedell Smith. GRACE AND POWER is about John and Jackie Kennedy, and the book mentions that as a young man in London John Kennedy was fascinated by the biography of William Lamb, Lord Melbourne, written by Lord David Cecil. (it may be recalled that Lord Melbourne’s wife Caroline was infatuated with Byron and famously referred to him as “mad, bad and dangerous to know”.)
Apparently John Kennedy was fascinated by the rich and powerful, but sensual and corrupt world of the Whig grandees (the Victorian Age was a reaction to the morality of the preceding Whig epoch).
From reading both volumes, it is clear that Kennedy’s own Camelot was modelled on the long-gone world of the Whigs at the height of their power in the 19th century. Kennedy’s taste for glamour and his drive for sensation in life, including all the women he pursued, is clearly depicted in the milieau of Lord Melbourne and his peers, as described in Cecil's biography.
But here's the eerie part: the biography is in two volumes and the concluding chapter of the first volume reads in part: “At forty seven he was at last, the William Lamb, Lord Melbourne, of later days . . . . Smiling, indolent, and inscrutable he lay, a pawn in the hands of fortune.”
Its young American reader, a future President of the United States who would try to live the glamorous and sensuous life of William Lamb, never reached the age of 47—he was assassinated at the age of 46. There would be no second volume in the life of JFK.
Apparently John Kennedy was fascinated by the rich and powerful, but sensual and corrupt world of the Whig grandees (the Victorian Age was a reaction to the morality of the preceding Whig epoch).
From reading both volumes, it is clear that Kennedy’s own Camelot was modelled on the long-gone world of the Whigs at the height of their power in the 19th century. Kennedy’s taste for glamour and his drive for sensation in life, including all the women he pursued, is clearly depicted in the milieau of Lord Melbourne and his peers, as described in Cecil's biography.
But here's the eerie part: the biography is in two volumes and the concluding chapter of the first volume reads in part: “At forty seven he was at last, the William Lamb, Lord Melbourne, of later days . . . . Smiling, indolent, and inscrutable he lay, a pawn in the hands of fortune.”
Its young American reader, a future President of the United States who would try to live the glamorous and sensuous life of William Lamb, never reached the age of 47—he was assassinated at the age of 46. There would be no second volume in the life of JFK.
March 27, 2017
I began reading this tome after becoming intrigued by the character of "Lord M" in the PBS series about Queen Victoria. I should perhaps have looked for a slightly more modern biography (this one was first published in 1939). Cecil was certainly thoroughly and appropriately analytical for the biographer of a Great Man, but his stiff phrasing and circumlocuitous way of making his point wore on me after a while. Like many people, Melbourne was both romantic and practical, generous and self-indulgent, appreciative and dismissive. His marriage to Lady Caroline Lamb was probably a bad idea from the start. Caroline appears to have known they wouldn't suit each other and yet plunged into a passionate love, which then turned to boredom and restlessness while Melbourne himself wasn't paying attention. Hence the infamous affair with Lord Byron that titillated all of London. The legal marriage continued, however, until Caroline's death in the late 1820s. As a political person, Melbourne came into his own after Caroline's death. His legacy is that of a "moderate" Whig in an age of rabid reformers and determined conservatives. Sound familiar?
September 3, 2020
David Cecil presents to the world a broken and mildly cynical man in Lord Melbourne who not by his own devising found himself Prime Minister of what was the greatest nation on earth during his tenure. It seemed being the second born he would struggle to survive aristocratic living. Chance circumstances, however, brought him into great favor: upon the death of his older brother he inherited a wealthy estate and title; because he found pleasure in educating himself he was sought for his wisdom and steady hand to lead a nation in distress; though he was not liked by his king, he was favored to form a government as its premier; and because of his tragic life experience, he came to a much greater understanding of the fairer sex which won him the post of private secretary to a great queen in the making. Readers share in Melbourne’s triumphs and blows. I found Lord Melbourne happiest in the role of mentor to Victoria and saddest when he was not. It was a bit heartbreaking to read that his latter days were spent wishing for what once momentarily was his most happy days. Old age crept up on him quickly, but he left a part of himself stamped on Queen Victoria. She was the daughter he did not have, and he was the father figure she needed in her early years to hold safe and secure the British monarchy as Europe in the years to come would experience tides of revolution and republicanism.
May 24, 2022
A wonderful biography of William Lamb, who was the Prime Minister of England in the 1830s. Focusses on his character and personality which was rich and complex,
November 25, 2014
Would you be interested in reading a book about a 21st-century House of Representative from Vermont? How about a 19th-century House Rep? Or a 19th-century Parliamentarian? David Cecil's Melbourne is a biography about a 19th-century Parliamentarian named William Lamb. A Wiki search has him listed as the "2nd Viscount Melbourne." He's also known as Lord Melbourne.
The book focuses mostly on Lord Melbourne's young life, having grown up to a wealthy family and later marrying a woman named Caroline, also from a wealthy family, but who was emotionally unstable, had several extramarital affairs, and once at a public dance for the well-to-do tried to stab herself with a pair of scissors. Lord Melbourne spent most of his young adulthood tending to the needs of his wife Caroline and also served in the British parliament as a Whig, who had a reputation for being a very middle-of-the-road, centrist politician.
This book by David Cecil was one of John F. Kennedy's favorites, and it's no surprise given the parallels between Lord Melbourne and JFK. Both grew up to a wealthy family, both were young handsome men, both went on to serve in their country's respective legislative bodies, both had an uneasy relationship with their wife, and both were centrist politicians. This book on Melbourne also receives critical acclaim from the Modern Library, who list it as one of the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century. However, only if you're like Kennedy, if you can see in Lord Melbourne a role model whom you could emulate would you find this book as worthy of the honor.
Cecil's Melbourne is well-written. It reads like a work of fiction narrated with a God's eye, and key moments are highlighted to illustrate the lives of the characters involved. For instance, Cecil describes scenes in which the Lady Melbourne, Caroline, sits in parlor talk with people she doesn't much care for but she endures because she can't get better company. Or the way in which Lord Melbourne gets older and begins to take on the ticks of old age, grunting spontaneously while ruminating on his interlocutor's point. All this reads well. But the characters are of no consequence.
It's not bad to be of no consequence. Most people on Earth as far as you're concerned are of no consequence. Even if you view an intrinsic moral worth in humanity just by virtue of being persons, you know that you will never see these people, never talk with them, never form intimate bonds and relationships with them, and they will pass away just as easily as you with scarcely a ripple in the water. And that's okay. As far as our Lord Melbourne is concerned, unless you can find something in him to hero-worship, which I could not do aside from a few pithy quotes he said, you will be at a loss to enjoy this book.
The book focuses mostly on Lord Melbourne's young life, having grown up to a wealthy family and later marrying a woman named Caroline, also from a wealthy family, but who was emotionally unstable, had several extramarital affairs, and once at a public dance for the well-to-do tried to stab herself with a pair of scissors. Lord Melbourne spent most of his young adulthood tending to the needs of his wife Caroline and also served in the British parliament as a Whig, who had a reputation for being a very middle-of-the-road, centrist politician.
This book by David Cecil was one of John F. Kennedy's favorites, and it's no surprise given the parallels between Lord Melbourne and JFK. Both grew up to a wealthy family, both were young handsome men, both went on to serve in their country's respective legislative bodies, both had an uneasy relationship with their wife, and both were centrist politicians. This book on Melbourne also receives critical acclaim from the Modern Library, who list it as one of the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century. However, only if you're like Kennedy, if you can see in Lord Melbourne a role model whom you could emulate would you find this book as worthy of the honor.
Cecil's Melbourne is well-written. It reads like a work of fiction narrated with a God's eye, and key moments are highlighted to illustrate the lives of the characters involved. For instance, Cecil describes scenes in which the Lady Melbourne, Caroline, sits in parlor talk with people she doesn't much care for but she endures because she can't get better company. Or the way in which Lord Melbourne gets older and begins to take on the ticks of old age, grunting spontaneously while ruminating on his interlocutor's point. All this reads well. But the characters are of no consequence.
It's not bad to be of no consequence. Most people on Earth as far as you're concerned are of no consequence. Even if you view an intrinsic moral worth in humanity just by virtue of being persons, you know that you will never see these people, never talk with them, never form intimate bonds and relationships with them, and they will pass away just as easily as you with scarcely a ripple in the water. And that's okay. As far as our Lord Melbourne is concerned, unless you can find something in him to hero-worship, which I could not do aside from a few pithy quotes he said, you will be at a loss to enjoy this book.
December 11, 2021
5/5!! One of my all time favorite biographies!
Daisy Goodwin made me so intrigued by Lord Melbourne in the ITV period drama Victoria. I honestly cried for two days straight after having to watch him pass away on the show. Right after I went straight to the Victoria novel, also by Daisy Goodwin, which is literally sentence by sentence the same as the tv-series. Haha. Still, I absolutely loved it.
Lord Melbourne is just one of those intriguing characters who is independent, has a firm opinion on matters, and knows his ways. He is also very charismatic, and displays so much respect and patience with the young Queen.
I'm not particularly fond of biographies, but David Cecil honestly made this book a blast to get through. I had to look up some of his previous works and found out he has written a biography about Jane Austen whom I also love. (He even was a former president of the Jane Austen society.)
The language in this book is simple and the events included interesting. Cecil has collected information about Lord M from various sources and I especially love when private letters are included in biographies. I find it interesting to compare societies view of the subject in addition to more personal diary entries, which in this case was a lot of them. (By the Queen herself.)
On my reading list I now have both the Queen's diary, which has been on my mind prior to this book. Now joined with some of Lord Melbournes favorite literary works mentioned in this book, which sparked my interest!
It's beyond comprehensible how much I adore Lord M. I'll never stop being upset that he had to die on the Victoria drama.
Daisy Goodwin made me so intrigued by Lord Melbourne in the ITV period drama Victoria. I honestly cried for two days straight after having to watch him pass away on the show. Right after I went straight to the Victoria novel, also by Daisy Goodwin, which is literally sentence by sentence the same as the tv-series. Haha. Still, I absolutely loved it.
Lord Melbourne is just one of those intriguing characters who is independent, has a firm opinion on matters, and knows his ways. He is also very charismatic, and displays so much respect and patience with the young Queen.
I'm not particularly fond of biographies, but David Cecil honestly made this book a blast to get through. I had to look up some of his previous works and found out he has written a biography about Jane Austen whom I also love. (He even was a former president of the Jane Austen society.)
The language in this book is simple and the events included interesting. Cecil has collected information about Lord M from various sources and I especially love when private letters are included in biographies. I find it interesting to compare societies view of the subject in addition to more personal diary entries, which in this case was a lot of them. (By the Queen herself.)
On my reading list I now have both the Queen's diary, which has been on my mind prior to this book. Now joined with some of Lord Melbournes favorite literary works mentioned in this book, which sparked my interest!
It's beyond comprehensible how much I adore Lord M. I'll never stop being upset that he had to die on the Victoria drama.
September 24, 2018
I enjoyed this book. An informative read and it didn't get lost in the weeds of the history. Surprisingly, I don't think I would have liked Melbourne - he was more conservative than I ever understood, and although he's touted as a great statesman, I would not have called his maneuvering to keep dissent tamped down great. Nevertheless, I acknowledge I'm looking at the early 19th century with a 21st century eye. I recommend this as a good overview if you are just beginning to look delve into early Victoriana.
January 10, 2021
This was a brilliantly-written political biography of a man who, even after enjoying his life's story, is entirely uninteresting to me. He was intelligent and influential, but I didn't find him likeable, admirable, or even much worth remembering. His life and this book were largely propelled by more decisive and colorful people in his life, particularly his mother, his wife Caroline, and the young Queen Victoria.
When these people weren't on the scene, the book fell back on the intricacies of the British political climate and even then was in large part about the things that were happening *around* Lord Melbourne. He had some complexity and some agency, and the author was excellent at presenting that, but even so, it felt as though Melbourne wasn't the star of his own biography.
The political bits were dull to me, though that's not a comment on the writing -- I know very little about pre-Victorian British politics and don't really care to learn. But the rest was really great biography work.
When these people weren't on the scene, the book fell back on the intricacies of the British political climate and even then was in large part about the things that were happening *around* Lord Melbourne. He had some complexity and some agency, and the author was excellent at presenting that, but even so, it felt as though Melbourne wasn't the star of his own biography.
The political bits were dull to me, though that's not a comment on the writing -- I know very little about pre-Victorian British politics and don't really care to learn. But the rest was really great biography work.
February 1, 2026
I mean, it's a very good biography, and there are some stand-out chapters. It is also rather interesting to learn about so many figures in early 19th century English politics that I hear next to nothing about anywhere, ever. Our author, being an early 20th century man, is juuuuust this side of flagrantly condescending about women, even while recognizing how brilliant and powerful so many of them were in this story. In the end, books like this remain so valuable for reminding us kids today that we humans really don't change all that much from generation to generation.
side note: The sheer amount of letter writing! everybody all the time! I love it so much! It's like our texting and group chats are today. And in the end, Melbourne ages out of being involved in public life and Queen Victoria leaves him on read.
side note: The sheer amount of letter writing! everybody all the time! I love it so much! It's like our texting and group chats are today. And in the end, Melbourne ages out of being involved in public life and Queen Victoria leaves him on read.
August 15, 2019
This book is saved by Cecil’s account of the very special relationship between Victoria and Melville which is drawn in a sensitive manner. Much of the first part is repetitive and overly long in dealing with his wife Caroline Lamb and her affairs and eventual lapse into lonely craziness.
Cecil rarely gives us dates and his approach to biography seems to be to turn it into a romantic novel with lots of descriptive passages which are the result of the authors imagination. Not my preferred style of biography. Give me dates facts and sources ! Not Cecil . An aristocrat himself he clearly writes as an aristo with all the indulgence of one regaling his own. Kennedy loved it but I prefer Andrew Roberts or Christopher Hibbert
Cecil rarely gives us dates and his approach to biography seems to be to turn it into a romantic novel with lots of descriptive passages which are the result of the authors imagination. Not my preferred style of biography. Give me dates facts and sources ! Not Cecil . An aristocrat himself he clearly writes as an aristo with all the indulgence of one regaling his own. Kennedy loved it but I prefer Andrew Roberts or Christopher Hibbert
June 25, 2018
A very long book that went in to too much detail about Melbournes terrible wife and her nemerous affairs. I wanted to read about our Prime Minister, not his wife.
Once all that unpleasantness was out of the way the book really improved and he became Prime Minister and became great friends with Queen Victoria.
While Lord Melbourne is portrayed very positively in Victoria the TV series, the book, going in to a lot more detail does not show him to be a great role model ultimately having no purpose in his final year and having failed to look after his health.
Once all that unpleasantness was out of the way the book really improved and he became Prime Minister and became great friends with Queen Victoria.
While Lord Melbourne is portrayed very positively in Victoria the TV series, the book, going in to a lot more detail does not show him to be a great role model ultimately having no purpose in his final year and having failed to look after his health.
July 29, 2022
Had watched the series Victoria on TV and became fascinated with her Prime Minister William Lamb, aka Lord Melbourne. This book was a wonderful description of his life and character. As a reader, I felt transported back to a different time. The author did a great job of explaining how things were and which views were held during these decades. The book is older and of course has quite a bit about British politics which accounted for a few of the more challenging parts for me. Overall a really enjoyable read!
June 24, 2017
Could not make myself be interested in his years in politics so ended up scanning those pages. Read this book to learn more about his relationship with the queen (because of Victoria) and while his early life and scandal of his marriage was fascinating, was left wanting on his time with the queen.
December 28, 2023
Too much commentary, not enough history
The author gives the reader a good insight onto Lord Melbourne, how he was, what he thought, but failed to do deep dive into Melbourne's time as PM. However, the author does explain his relationship with Queen Victoria quite well.
The author gives the reader a good insight onto Lord Melbourne, how he was, what he thought, but failed to do deep dive into Melbourne's time as PM. However, the author does explain his relationship with Queen Victoria quite well.
May 8, 2017
Outstanding biography. Well researched.
March 13, 2019
Non historians review
I did not think i would enjoy this book,but found to my delight that Lord was a highly relatable character. The book reads well and is engaging.
I did not think i would enjoy this book,but found to my delight that Lord was a highly relatable character. The book reads well and is engaging.
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April 26, 2020Check out my blog for my thoughts on this biography www.Reading1000Books.com
June 4, 2025
Beautifully written, but essentially aristocratic propaganda.
August 2, 2026
This was a good biography of an English leader who , as an American, I knew nothing about.
October 16, 2026
Rating scale:
1 - Poor
2 - Solid, not great
3 - Good/decent
4 - Great
5 - Excellent
1 - Poor
2 - Solid, not great
3 - Good/decent
4 - Great
5 - Excellent
December 17, 2020
This is one of those rare occasions in reading when I start reading a book and feel like I don't want to put it down. I am, admittedly, only at the beginning of the book so we will see how I feel when I get a little farther along. I do love history.
Highly recommend for people who are interested in history!!!
Highly recommend for people who are interested in history!!!
February 25, 2017
well executed biographies with much insight into the times and culture
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May 31, 2010I have read this before and it's the most wonderful book. It was supposed to be John F.Kennedy's favourite book! I can see why.
David Cecil paints an enchanting account of Lord Melbourne's life from his troubled relationship with his imposing and rather immoral mother and his marriage to the beautiful Lady Caroline to his fatherly love for the young Queen Victoria.
His analysis of Lord Melbourne's pragmatic and compromising character is brilliant. The section on the differences between Melbourne and his beautiful, damaged and idealistic wife is especially good. Lady Caroline, disappointed by Melbourne's lack of idealism, and suffering from terrible depression, started chasing after Lord Byron and generally made a fool of herself in Regency society. Lord Melbourne couldn't understand her actions, but he was incredibly patient with her and she was the love of his life.
David Cecil paints an enchanting account of Lord Melbourne's life from his troubled relationship with his imposing and rather immoral mother and his marriage to the beautiful Lady Caroline to his fatherly love for the young Queen Victoria.
His analysis of Lord Melbourne's pragmatic and compromising character is brilliant. The section on the differences between Melbourne and his beautiful, damaged and idealistic wife is especially good. Lady Caroline, disappointed by Melbourne's lack of idealism, and suffering from terrible depression, started chasing after Lord Byron and generally made a fool of herself in Regency society. Lord Melbourne couldn't understand her actions, but he was incredibly patient with her and she was the love of his life.
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