Volume 52, Number 6 · April 7, 2005
The First Thatcherite?
By John Brewer
William Pitt the Younger
by William Hague
Knopf, 556 pp., $35.00
A prominent English conservative politician, Ann Widdecombe, has described William Hague's biography of William Pitt the Younger as a book 'about a witty, youthful and ambitious politician by a witty, youthful and ambitious politician.' Her link between William Hague, who in June 1997 was elected the youngest leader of the Conservative Party since Pitt, and his subject, who in 1783 became prime minister at the callow age of twenty-four, has not been lost on those who have marketed, reviewed, and read the English edition of this biography. But like most half-baked pieces of news-speak, this connection is far too neat, conveniently overlooking the radical differences between the two young men. Hague's rise to power was swift, though not as meteoric as Pitt's, but his fall was far faster. Pitt, as Hague points out,
Review, 3657 words
To read the full text of this piece, please choose one of the following options:
|
If you are already a subscriber to the Review's electronic edition, please sign in: |
To subscribe to the electronic edition, please press the button below. |
To purchase access to this article for $3, please press the button below. |