Facts About the British Prime Ministers compiles the salient historical, political and personal facts associated with each of the 50 people who have held this great office since 1721.
Part I has chapters on each PM, arranged chronologically and all in the same format for ease of reference. Each chapter begins with sections on family background, elections fought, parliamentary career, ministerial appointments and administrations formed. Next comes a chronology of important events and accomplishments in each PM's personal and political life, which provides a birds eye view of British history from 1721 to the present. Each chapter closes with sections of background information on the PM's education, non-parliamentary career, finances, hobbies, honours, residences, memorials and select lists of publications by and about the PM.
Part II contains information from the chapters in part I rearranged and analysed into 80 tables to compare Prime Ministers by length of service, education, fathers’ and mothers’ occupations, causes of death, children who became MPs, dwells fought, owners received, cabinets with former and/or future PMs etc.
The book also contains an introduction to PMs’ duties in the 20th century and their official residences and note on sources.
[From the dust jacket]
This work covers in massive detail all of England's prime ministers from Robert Walpole (1721) to the two most recent holders of that office, Margaret Thatcher and John Major, some activities of the latter being recorded as late as February 1995.
After a detailed introduction, which gives the history, significance, residences, and so on for the office of prime minister, each holder of the office is allocated 10 or more pages of closely printed text. These include a photo, a coat of arms, and a summary of overall performance. This is followed by details of ancestry, dates of birth and marriage, appointment as M.P. and as P.M., number of years in office, and similar data. Then is given a detailed account of the individual's career, political activity, and experience as a minister, with sociopolitical events, day by day, during his or her career. Several paragraphs outline education, finances, hobbies, honors, residences, memorials (statues, portraits, etc.), followed by a long section of anecdotes and quotations, and finally a bibliography. At the end is a "Comparative Data" section, listing every scrap of information a curious reader might desire, such as the age of the ministers' wives at marriage, how many were sons of peers, what ranks of knighthood each attained, and who had the longest and shortest terms in office. Finally, there is an excellent index.
The level of detail here may be matched only by reference works on our presidents. But as librarians are aware, information about such people as Robert Walpole, the Duke of Wellington, Benjamin Disraeli, William Gladstone, and Winston Churchill is of great importance to students of world history. The value of this book to researchers in British political history cannot be overestimated, and the work is strongly recommended for all academic libraries and for public libraries where there is interest.
