Lord Palmerston: a biography

帕默斯顿的公众生涯是漫长而富有戏剧性的。他于1807年首次进入议会，并担任过许多重要的公职，如海军部小勋爵（1807-09）和战争秘书（1809-28），然后进入政府最高职位担任外交大臣（三次，1830-34，1835-41，1846-51），内政大臣（1852-55）和首相（两次：1855-58，1859-65）。这是一个重要的职业生涯，不仅为其寿命，但其影响：帕默斯顿主导辉格党和自由党的政治在这些年来，他的影响力扩大到外交事务和国内生活。当帕默斯顿去世时，威廉·格莱斯顿有充分的理由观察到，“死亡确实击倒了所有森林中最高耸的鹿角”。帕默斯顿的一生跨越了一个漫长的时间段（1784-1865）和戏剧性的社会和文化变革。出生于法国大革命之前，生活在世纪后期的“大规模城市民主”时代，至少是它的开端;见证并主持了“不列颠和平”的兴起，也可以说是衰落;经历了一个激烈的社会和经济变革时期;帕默斯顿的一生是一面棱镜，通过它可以看到现代英国和欧洲形成过程中一些最重要的发展和过程。解释帕默斯顿跨越了政治光谱，从保守党到辉格党再到自由党，他既被描绘成一个反动人物，也被描绘成一个进步的民主政治家。他经常被描述为一个矛盾的人物：同时是精英主义者和民粹主义者;自由主义者和保守主义者;鲁莽的战争贩子和谨慎，温和的外交家。目前还没有一个全面的研究帕默斯顿，其中考虑到目前的工作对19世纪英国历史或探讨如何帕默斯顿操纵他的环境和情况下，甚至塑造了一个新的方法来政治（在采取政治超越威斯敏斯特，例如）。早期的研究都局限于关注他生活或职业生涯的某个特定方面或时期。一个新的传记，这将考虑帕默斯顿的个人事务和习惯，以及维多利亚时代的贵族生活的文化史，提供了一个机会，探讨在十九世纪英国政治文化的重要主题。在这方面，例如，它将考虑有问题的，但非常重要的，关于自由主义和whiggery和政治代表，国家认同和流行的政治辩论，同时也给予适当的重量和关注更熟悉的方面帕默斯顿的职业生涯和活动作为一个领先的外交部长的时期。这本书将是一个政治传记审查帕默斯顿的地方在十九世纪英国和国际历史这将是第一项对帕默斯顿政治的演变、意义和影响进行连贯考察的研究，将帕默斯顿视为不仅仅是一个好战、咆哮的外交政策学派的化身。重要的是，根据最近的工作，它将考虑到帕默斯顿的立场与公众和帕默斯顿主义的代表。它将超越一个直截了当的叙述的生活，通过检查帕默斯顿的互动与运动的政治文化;考虑不仅是什么帕默斯顿，但这意味着什么同时代人，他如何塑造一个形象，以及如何使用和操纵。本书的方法论和途径将在“目标”部分和支持案例中进一步概述。

Palmerston's public career was a long and dramatic one. He first entered Parliament in 1807 and served in a number of important public offices, as a Junior Lord of the Admiralty (1807-09) and Secretary at War (1809-28) before entering into the highest offices of government as Foreign Secretary (three times, 1830-34, 1835-41, 1846-51), Home Secretary (1852-55) and Prime Minister (twice: 1855-58, 1859-65). It is a career important not just for its longevity but for its impact: Palmerston dominated Whig and Liberal politics during these years and his influence extended over foreign affairs and also domestic life. With good reason did William Gladstone observe when Palmerston died that, 'Death has indeed laid low the most Towering Antlers in all the forest'.Palmerston's life spanned a long chronological period (1784-1865) and dramatic social and cultural change. Born before the French Revolution and living to see if not the age of 'mass urban democracy' of the later nineteenth century, at least its inception; witnessing and indeed presiding over the rise and arguably also the fall of the 'pax Britannica'; living through a period of intense social and economic change; Palmerston's life is a prism through which to view some of the most important developments and processes in the fashioning of modern Britain and Europe.Yet it is a life that has proved difficult to explain. Palmerston spanned the political spectrum, from Tory to Whig to Liberal and he has been presented as both a reactionary figure and a progressive democratic politician. He is described frequently as a paradoxical figure: simultaneously elitist and populist; liberal and conservative; reckless war-monger and careful, moderate, diplomat. There is currently no fully rounded study of Palmerston which takes account of current work on nineteenth century British history or which explores the way Palmerston manipulated his environment and circumstances, indeed even fashioned a new approach to politics (in taking politics beyond Westminster, for example). Earlier studies are all limited by focusing upon a particular aspect or period of his life or career. A new biography, which will consider Palmerston's personal affairs and habits, as well as the cultural history of Victorian aristocratic life, offers an opportunity to explore important themes in nineteenth century British political culture. Within this, for example, it will consider the problematic, yet highly significant, debates about liberalism and whiggery and about political representation, national identity and popular politics, while also giving due weight and attention to the more familiar aspects of Palmerston's career and activities as a leading foreign minister of the period.The book will be a political biography examining Palmerston's place in nineteenth century British and international history. This will be the first study to offer a coherent examination of the evolution, meaning and impact of Palmerstonian politics, looking at Palmerston as more than simply the embodiment of a bellicose, blustering, school of foreign policy. Significantly, and in the light of recent work, it will take account of Palmerston's standing with the public and representations of Palmerstonism. It will go beyond a straight-forward narrative of the life by examining Palmerston's interaction with movements in political culture; to consider not only what Palmerston did, but what this meant to contemporaries, how he fashioned an image and how this was used and manipulated. The methodology and approach to this book are outlined further in the 'Objectives' section and in the Case for Support.