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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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What listeners say about William Pitt The Younger
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- 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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- 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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- Petra
- 22-07-14
Extremely enjoyable
I was surprised at just how good this was. Admittedly, I was ignorant of the history, but I thought that the balance between the personal insights and the narrative of events was spot on.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- G. A. Thart
- 01-07-19
Well written book about William Pitt
Informative, entertaining, occas even humerous book about an unusual PM. I knew nothing about him and this book gave me an excellent insight about his work. Also a different look on the Napoleonic times. Even his medical history is reasonable accurate.
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- Anonymous User
- 10-08-22
Excellent - thoroughly enjoyed it!
I didn’t know much about William Pitt The Younger. I find that sometimes when I delve into unknown historical territory some books would only be worthwhile if you’re already familiar with the subject. Not so here!
The book wonderfully illustrates Mr. Pitt, his contemporaries and the context. It’s a fascinating listen and I would definitely recommend to anyone who is interested in historical / political texts, even if, like me, you’re a new guy to the subject..
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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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- 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