Book description
This remarkable book opens at the dawn of the British Empire - with
the great sea battle at Quiberon Bay where French ships, intended for
the 1759 invasion of Britain, are chased, caught and defeated by a
fleet commanded by Admiral Sir Edward Hawke. In this momentous victory
Britain effectively settled the outcome of the Seven Years' War and
established itself as the world's dominant imperial power.
At the heart of the conflict with France was William Pitt, the first
Earl of Chatham and Britain's future Prime Minister. Weaving together
military history and political biography Edward Pearce provides a
portrait of the man 'with an eye like a diamond' - a man who had close
ties with the slave trade and who preached war and British supremacy
on a world stage. Alongside detailed descriptions of battles in Europe
and North America we follow Pitt's career as a politician - one that
was closely intertwined with General James Wolfe at Quebec; American
independence; the slow mind of George III and the quick one of the
rake and outsider John Wilkes.
Edward Pearce scrutinises the real man at the heart of the
historical events and mystique surrounding the legacy of Pitt the
Elder, to present a rounded and masterful portrait of arguably the
most powerful minister ever to guide Britain's foreign policy and of
an age which marked a new epoch in history, when the balance of power
in Europe and the world was set for almost two centuries.
Edward Pearce is a political journalist and author. He has been a
leader writer for the
Daily Express
, a Commons sketch writer and leader writer for the
Daily Telegraph
, a columnist for the
Sunday Times
and the
Guardian
, and sketch writer for the
New Statesman
. He also writes regularly for the
Yorkshire Post
, and was a panellist on BBC Radio 4's
The Moral Maze
. He has written over 13 books, from
The Senate of Lilliput
(1983) to his most recent,
The Great Man
(2007), a life of Sir Robert Walpole.
