William Pitt the Younger: A Biography

William Pitt the Younger: A Biography
William Hague

This edition contains a limited number of images.The Sunday Times bestselling biography of one of the towering figures in British history who became Prime Minister at the age of twenty-four, written by the youngest-ever leader of the Tory Party.The younger William Pitt – known as the ‘schoolboy’ – began his days as Prime Minister in 1783 deeply underestimated and completely beleaguered. Yet he annihilated his opponents in the General Election the following year and dominated the governing of Britain for twenty-two years, nearly nineteen of them as Prime Minister. No British politician since then has exercised such supremacy for so long.Pitt presided over dramatic changes in the country’s finances and trade, brought about the union with Ireland, but was ultimately consumed by the years of debilitating war with France. Domestic crises included unrest in Ireland, deep division in the royal family, the madness of the King and a full-scale naval mutiny. He enjoyed huge success, yet died at the nadir of his fortunes, struggling to maintain a government beset by a thin majority at home and military disaster abroad; he worked, worried and drank himself to death. Finally his story is told with the drama, wit and authority it deserves.

WILLIAM PITT

THE YOUNGER

WILLIAM HAGUE

DEDICATION (#ulink_65c92c6d-cdf9-5cae-a764-adacfa54dd0b)

For my mother and father,

who have passed on to me

their reverence for books

CONTENTS

Cover (#ud2410617-a024-59f0-9b27-6a553bcb267c)

Title Page (#u7c07186f-ef7f-571d-b162-53add8da1b35)

Dedication (#ulink_1453ddeb-5474-5691-9ffb-6fbb5bfeac32)

Family Tree (#ulink_4bee1b80-c454-5854-8f70-658fcf6bc72e)

Map: French Satellites and French Conquests, 1792–1805 (#ulink_d4e12797-96c8-5c1f-940a-fec0b38cb88d)

Prologue (#ulink_db33dda6-20f2-56a0-a790-c4e174a1d374)

PART ONE

1 Elder and Younger (#ulink_d49b5177-0747-56ae-8391-416982dbf870)

2 Cambridge and the World (#ulink_e2e27738-3b8d-56fc-86fb-d300b13ba01a)

3 Ambition on Schedule (#ulink_8ea6dc5e-7df2-51de-9bd4-db3dfe6542ba)

4 Brilliant Beginnings (#ulink_55074afa-d7c7-54c2-aad7-1ca629e5fd7b)

5 Death of Two Governments (#ulink_e9dbc172-5c83-5e4c-8576-0f732ad7ed92)

6 The Youngest Chancellor (#ulink_e30aa6cc-be28-51b6-942c-76a0003fcb93)

7 Brief Exuberance (#ulink_9cd45dc2-09c0-5bf1-aef4-1183fdec1664)

8 From Plotter to Prime Minister (#ulink_91684abd-dd7e-5263-9de9-a1be90d1ebaa)

9 The Struggle for Supremacy (#ulink_42f64520-ec6d-500b-ac21-440073419cbc)

PART TWO

10 Power and its Limits (#litres_trial_promo)

11 Private by Nature (#litres_trial_promo)

12 Spreading His Wings (#litres_trial_promo)

13 Insanity and Crisis (#litres_trial_promo)

14 Trials of Strength (#litres_trial_promo)

15 The Cautious Crusader (#litres_trial_promo)

16 The View from the Precipice (#litres_trial_promo)

PART THREE

17 A Tutorial in War (#litres_trial_promo)

18 Frustrations of Supremacy (#litres_trial_promo)

19 Insurmountable Obstacles (#litres_trial_promo)

20 Breaking Point (#litres_trial_promo)

21 Caution to the Winds (#litres_trial_promo)

22 The Dashing of Hope (#litres_trial_promo)

23 Resignation with Hesitation (#litres_trial_promo)

PART FOUR

24 The Limits of Magnanimity (#litres_trial_promo)

25 The Old Addiction (#litres_trial_promo)

26 Back, But Never the Same (#litres_trial_promo)

27 Too Many Enemies (#litres_trial_promo)

28 ‘How I Leave My Country’ (#litres_trial_promo)

Notes (#litres_trial_promo)

Bibliography (#litres_trial_promo)