Curzon

David Gilmour

Editions

Review

To read about Lord Curzon's long career is to follow the British Empire from its zenith into its twilight.  As Queen Victoria's last Viceroy, he presided over the Indian empire at its apogee; as Foreign Secretary, he was a crucial figure on the international stage at the start of the First World War; in the Twenties, his great ambition to be Prime Minister was thwarted.

Brilliant, obsessive, tempestuous, "superior", Curzon inspired both adoration and intense dislike in public and also in private.  This elegant book lucidly weaves the contradictions of this extraordinary man into a coherent life.  It is a must for anyone interested in the decline of the British Empire, but it should also be read by anyone who likes biography.  As in The Last Leopard pbk £12.99, Gilmour displays an uncanny gift for presenting a complex person. - review by Johnny de Falbe