Charles Greville (1794-1865) made his first occasional diary entries in 1814, but the diary only became a regular habit in the mid-1820s, continuing with occasional breaks, about which he is self-reproachful, through the reigns of George IV, William IV and Victoria. Finally, in 1860, after shaking his head over the worrying triumphs of Garibaldi, he closed it, once and for all. The grandson of a duke, Greville looked with a level and scornful eye upon royalty. George was 'the most worthless dog that ever lived'; William 'the silliest old gentleman in his own dominions, but what can be expected of a man with a head like a pineapple?' The diaries roused Queen Victoria - 'an odd woman' - from the lethargy of her widowhood.She spoke of Greville's 'indiscretion, indelicacy, ingratitude toward friends, betrayal of confidence and shameful disloyalty'. Greville's circle included Talleyrand, Wellington, Macaulay, Sydney Smith, Princess Lieven, Lord Grey, Melbourne, Guizot and Disraeli, as well as 'jockeys, bookmakers and blackguards'.As Clerk of the Privy Council, Greville works for a compromise on the Reform Bill.He witnesses Covent Garden theatre burning down.His closest friend, Lord De Ros, is caught cardsharping. Visiting Balmoral, he finds Albert and Victoria living 'not merely like small gentlefolks, but like very small gentlefolks'. When cholera comes, he writes laconically of 'Mrs Smith, young and beautiful, taken ill while dressing for Church and dead by nightfall.' Not a chatterbox, Charles Greville brilliantly assembles everyone else's chatter. This is the intelligent voice of another age, an uneasy aristocrat catching history on the turn and looking dubiously at the future.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1883.

Anthony Hewitson (1836-1912) was a typical Victorian journalist, working in one of the largest sectors of the periodical press, provincial newspapers. His diaries, written between 1862 and 1912, lift the veil of anonymity hiding the people, processes and networks involved in the creation of Victorian newspapers. They also tell us about Victorian fatherhood, family life, and the culture of a Victorian town. Diaries of nineteenth-century provincial journalists are extremely rare. Anthony Hewitson went from printer’s apprentice to newspaper reporter and eventually editor of his own paper. Every night he jotted down the day’s doings, his thoughts and feelings. The diaries are a lively account of the reporter’s daily round, covering meetings and court cases, hunting for gossip or attending public executions and variety shows, in and around Preston, Lancashire. Andrew Hobbs’s introduction and footnotes provide background and analysis of these valuable documents. This full scholarly edition offers a wealth of new information about reporting, freelancing, sub-editing, newspaper ownership and publishing, and illuminates aspects of Victorian periodicals and culture extending far beyond provincial newspapers. The Diaries of Anthony Hewitson, Provincial Journalist are an indispensable research tool for local and regional historians, as well as social and political historians with an interest in Victorian studies and the media. They are also illuminating for anyone interested in nineteenth-century social and cultural history.

The saga of the epic battle to re-build the Houses of Parliament after the great fire of 1834, this is also the story of how the greatest construction programme in Britain for centuries produced one of the most famous and instantly recognizable buildings ever built

Using a wealth of unpublished sources, this book tells the story of Lady Georgiana Lennox and the unique friendship she cherished with the 1st Duke of Wellington. Georgy first met the Duke on his return from India when he was serving under her father the Duke of Richmond who was then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. The Lennox family moved to Brussels in 1813 and Georgy's mother threw the now legendary Duchess of Richmond's Ball the night before the Battle of Waterloo. Georgy had a front row seat to the battle, and remained in Brussels afterwards to help the many wounded soldiers who returned from the front. Georgy was a beautiful and immensely popular young lady with many suitors during her youth. She and the Duke enjoyed a flirtatious early friendship, which blossomed into an intimate friendship in later years. At twenty-nine Georgy married the future 23rd Baron de Ros who became a diplomatic spy and later Governor of the Tower of London. Georgy had three children, and died at the impressive age of 96, by which time she was one of the last people alive who had been a personal friend of the Iron Duke.