Rosebery: Statesman in Turmoil

By Leo McKinstry

The fifth Earl of Rosebery was a glamorous man and a brilliant politician. Yet he was kept from true greatness by his own complexity.

The fifth Earl of Rosebery was the most glamorous Liberal politician of the late Victorian age. Charismatic, enlightened, wealthy and intellectually brilliant, he once said that he had three ambitions: to marry an heiress, win the Derby and become Prime Minister. By his mid-forties, he had achieved all three.

But his political career was clouded by his mercurial character. Self-centred, impulsive and neurotic, he shrouded himself in mystery and was caught up in many of the greatest scandals of his era. Now, using a wealth of archival material, award-winning author Leo McKinstry reveals the dramatic, compelling story behind this paradoxical figure.

Rosebery: Statesman in Turmoil is essential reading for anyone interested in the politics and social life of Victorian England, and for all who enjoy quality biographies.