Edwardian Requiem: A life of Sir Edward Grey

Best remembered for his portentous remark at the outbreak of the Great War, 'The lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our time', Sir Edward Grey was a consummate Edwardian politician and one of the most notable statesmen of an era abounding with them. Grey was the longest continuous serving Foreign Secretary of his or any age. It was a position he filled for more than a decade, under Campbell-Bannerman and then Asquith, during which time he battled relentlessly to protect and advance the interests of his country against the volatile backdrop of a Europe in which the balance of power was tilting wildly. Grey was full of contradictions. Deep in his heart he was a country-loving fisherman, a naturalist and ornithologist who preferred reading Wordsworth to giving speeches in his constituency and answering questions on foreign policy in the House. Yet he spent nearly thirty years in Parliament and only reluctantly become Foreign Secretary of a country that presided over the greatest empire the world had seen since Roman times. A peace-loving statesman who rarely left his shores, it fell to Grey to ask his country to go to war with Germany over a broken treaty agreement. Edwardian Requiem is the remarkable portrait of a complex and enigmatic statesman who presided over the twilight of old Europe.

About the Author :
Michael Waterhouse has combined a business career with a lifelong passion for politics and the countryside, as well as writing and producing a number of critically acclaimed books and radio shows. He lives on the Isle of Wight.

Review :
'A good portrait of Grey the man' New Statesman 'Well-researched and highly readable - We should be grateful to Michael Waterhouse for reminding us of the substance of a man who is now best remembered for his gloomy remarks about 'the lamps going out all over Europe' and not being lit again in our time - By this book, his light has been well and truly lit for some time to come.' Country Life 'This book provides a remarkable portrait of a double life. Famed for his calm public rectitude, Grey emerges here as a man of great private passion, promiscuously indulged - Grey's patient diplomacy in the cause of freedom is rightly and eloquently applauded in this important book which must rank among the finest political biographies of recent years.'The House Magazine 'Waterhouse makes an excellent, if sometimes, over-emphatic case for Grey's achievements as a statesman - Most interestingly, he demonstrates how Grey was the first important British politician to build a "special relationship" with the United States.' The Telegraph 'If you want to learn everything about this enigmatic and contradictory figure, who much preferred fly fishing and nature walks to the rough and tumble of the political world, get this comprehensive and illuminating biography. For [sic] Michael Waterhouse - really knows his stuff and has delved right under his subject's skin - The result is a fascinating study of an essentially unambitious man whose correspondence repeatedly reveals that he found politics and its machinations a right old drudge - Waterhouse, like others before him, believes that Grey, not surprisingly, had several affairs - a welcome bit of spice to a tale that might otherwise get bogged down by too much politics and diplomacy - This biography's great strength is that it reveals what really made the mysterious Grey tick - and that is, after all, what should be the objective of every writer in this literary genre.' The Oldie 'A well-researched account of one of the most defining periods in British history.' Vanity Fair 'It is a well-researched and admirably fair account of a man who, for more than 15 years, played a critically important role in the formulation of British foreign policy. No Englishman could have prevented the 1914-1918 war. Grey got as close to it as anyone could have done, and Waterhouse should be thanked for reminding us of his existence.' The Spectator "Despite these misgivings Waterhouse is to be congratulated for presenting such a fully rounded portrait of a man unfairly accused of leading Britain into the most disastrous war in modern history...This biography makes clear how vital it is for any statesman to possess what Denis Healey famously described as 'hinterland'.' History Today