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William Pitt The Younger
- Narrated by: Richard Burnip
- Length: 23 hrs and 52 mins
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William Pitt The Younger
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Summary
William Pitt the Younger is an illuminating biography of one of the great iconic figures in British history: the man who in 1784 at the age of twenty-four became (and so remains) the youngest Prime Minister in the history of England.
In this lively and authoritative study, William Hague himself the youngest political party leader in recent history explains the dramatic events and exceptional abilities that allowed extreme youth to be combined with great power. The brilliant son of a father who was also Prime Minister, Pitt was derided as a schoolboy when he took office. Yet within months he had outwitted his opponents, and he went on to dominate the political scene for twenty-two years (nineteen of them as Prime Minister). No British politician since has exercised such supremacy for so long. Pitt's personality has always been hard to unravel.
Though he was generally thought to be cold and aloof, his friends described him as the wittiest man they ever knew. By seeing him through the eyes of a politician, William Hague - a prominent member of Britain's Conservative Party - succeeds in explaining Pitt's actions and motives through a series of great national crises, including the madness of King George III, the impact of the French Revolution, and the trauma of the Napoleonic wars. He describes how a man dedicated to peace became Britain's longest-serving war leader, how Pitt the liberal reformer became Pitt the author of repression, and how - though undisputed master of the nation's finances - he died with vast personal debts.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- rilenka
- 09-10-18
A tour de force
A splendid in depth biography of a unique figure in our history. Mr Haigh has clearly researched his subject thoroughly and included some private events as well as his public ones. Like many people I only remembered learning he introduced income tax and this shows him as fallible as the rest of us. I was particularly interested in the undeclared war between him and Charles Fox.
The narrator was very good and got the tone of the times just right
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Declan
- 13-05-10
an intelligent insight
This is a excellent description of William Pitt the younger. I was completely gripped and enjoyed this book immensely. William Hague does a great job of documenting Pitt's life and analysing the possible thought process Pitt is going through. I really enjoyed this book.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Kindle Customer
- 08-08-21
William Pitt the Younger
Excellent,both interesting and informative and we!! narrated.I would thoroughly recommend this book by William Hague
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mr. Richard Lawrence
- 19-10-19
Masterly
This is a period of British history that I am relatively unfamiliar with (my A-level course began with Lord Liverpool), but William Hague's enthralling biography brings the whole period to life as well as giving an enthralling insight into the fierce parliamentary controversies of the time. Hague's own background as a leading politician gives him a valuable perspective on Pitt as a parliamentarian, and while of course today's House of Commons is very different from the one Pitt would have known, it is the same institution and Hague's analysis is authoritative. The turbulence of the age is also interesting in light of our own profoundly unsettled times.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazonian
- 20-08-22
Exceptional book
I was not familiar with the life of William Pitt the Younger, and through this erudite and beautifully written book have gained an insight into his life and times. The author manages to create an emotional connection to a man whose speeches are of a style unfamiliar to modern ears, which I think is a real achievement. We are guided through his life by information that doesn't slide into guesswork, and that is well-delivered by the narrator. It took me a couple of chapters to get into it but by halfway I looked forward to my next opportunity to listen, and by the end I was fascinated and enthralled.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- colin mckenzie
- 21-04-22
detailed and interesting
a very interesting biography. well worth listening to. a minor complaint is the 18th century accent adopted by the narrator throughout, made it hard to know when he finished a contemporary quotation
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- dmcd
- 27-05-17
Excellent vehicle for English history
One of the main reasons I love biographies is the context in which they lived is integral to their story. As the contribution of famous characters in the story, e.g. George III, Nelson, Wellington, Napoleon, unfold, the significance of Pitts life takes on even more fascination! How long cry we are for his skill, devotion and service. Loved this book
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Fred
- 28-08-21
Comfortably interesting
An interesting walk through a fascinating era. I learned a lot about the history of the time .
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- D
- 27-04-19
Fantastic from beginning to end
Brilliantly narrated, researched in great depth, a riveting and worthy account of one of the most influential figures in British history.
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- A. J. Taylor
- 21-03-21
Excellent
Very well written and narrated book about an extraordinary man. Pitt was a great and inspired some of the great talents in politics in the early 19th Century. We are not taught about this important figure in school and I advocate everyone to purchase this book to learn about some who worked incredibly hard to do what he thought was right.
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