BOOK REVIEW: The Lion and the Unicorn: Gladstone vs. Disraeli by Richard Aldous

After reading a biography of Benjamin Disraeli, I thought I should read one about his nemesis, William Gladstone. Instead, I chose a dual biography that focused on the rivalry between them, The Lion and the Unicorn: Gladstone vs. Disraeli by Richard Aldous.

This monograph very nicely lays out the political questions of the time (in superficial detail) and delves into the positions and personalities of the two prime ministers of late 19th century Britain. The two men were supposedly both brilliant orators, but apparently that meant they could speak for 4 or 5 hours at a stretch and lard their speeches with witty (or what passed for witty at the time) invective.

It seems as though the two began their political lives on roughly the same side of issues, with slight differences of opinion, but as their ambitions grew, their rivalry increased, and they began staking out more extreme positions. Disraeli became more reactionary. Gladstone became the leader of the Liberals. At times, they borrowed policies from one another with minimal deviations, more concerned with scoring political points for their parties than with actually achieving effective change. (Disraeli seems more guilty of this.) It’s unclear how strongly they believed in the principles they espoused.

Clearly, to better understand their roles in guiding British politics, I’d need to read something that gets more into the weeds. I was left with the impression that they were captains of the ship (alternating captaincy) at a time when Britain was undergoing great upheavals (industrialization, increased colonialism, etc.), but although they are each considered among the great Prime Ministers, I’m not all that clear on whether their incessant bickering actually steered the ship or just rocked it back and forth.