This vivid account of the leader who shaped 18th century English politics and culture focuses on his 20 years in office.

Part of The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain, this book spans from the aftermath of the Revolution of 1688 to Pitt the Younger's defeat at attempted parliamentary reform.

"The year 1721 has many splendors, but there are also 13 public hanging days a year, drunkenness is endemic, and organized crime rampages through the streets. Only a generation earlier James II, suspected of conspiring to enforce Roman Catholicism and subordinate England to France, was driven out by the Whigs. In 1715 his son, the Pretender, failed to take the Crown by armed force. The new King, George I, an intelligent, moderate man, is cursed everywhere as a damned foreigner. James's followers, the Jacobites, conspire and are persecuted. In 1720, the South Sea Bubble, an attempt to finance state debt by runaway speculation, collapses. Ruined people mass in Westminster. The South Sea directors, says an MP, should be thrown into the sea. The Pretender could take over any day. Robert Walpole, once imprisoned for financial chicanery, assumes political control. When the rage subsides he becomes chief minister--or, a new title, "Prime Minister." He personally detects a Jacobite plot. Digging in, he buys parliamentary seats wholesale with secret service money. In a runaway theatrical success, "The Beggar's Opera", Walpole is compared with the criminal mastermind Jonathan Wild. But he will dominate King, Parliament, and Government until 1742. Dismissed in 1727 on the death of George I, he recruits the new King's clever wife, Caroline, and bounces cheerfully back. Coarse, corrupt, and cynical, Walpole sits on the Treasury Bench munching little Norfolk apples sent from the estate he is enlarging with political profit. This is Mr. Worldlywiseman, keeping England out of war for 20 years and setting up a stable and growing economy. All politics of a kind we can recognize begin with Robert Walpole. And here, in Edward Pearce's elegant book, he is brought vividly back to life."--Publisher description.

Britain's first Prime Minister, Robert Walpole, smuggled wine up the Thames with the help of the Navy. Tony Blair confessed that a stiff drink and half a bottle of wine a night had become a helpful crutch while in office. Joseph Stalin flushed out traitors with vodka. The disintegration of Richard Nixon and Boris Yeltsin was largely down to drink. Winston Churchill was famous for his drinking, often taking a whisky and soda first thing in the morning and champagne ritually with dinner. But why did these politicians drink and what was their tipple of choice? How did drinking shape the decisions they made? Ben Wright, political correspondent for the BBC, explores the history of alcohol within politics, from the debauched drinking practices of eighteenth-century ministers to today, often based on his own experiences supping with politicians in Westminster bars. With exclusive interviews and in-depth research, Order, Order! uses alcohol as a lens through which to meet a remarkable cast of politicians, to understand their times and discover what drove them to drink. A story of boozy bon viveurs - but with many casualties too - and the complexity of the human condition and the pull of the bottle.

Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2009 im Fachbereich Anglistik - Kultur und Landeskunde, Note: 1,7, Universität Leipzig (Anglistik), Veranstaltung: 18th Century britain, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: “THERE never was a man, whose actions and character have been more earnestly and openly canvassed, than those of the present minister, who, having governed a learned and free nation for so long a time, amidst such mighty opposition, ... ” (http://www.econlib.org/library/LFBooks/Hume/hmMPL47.html) These words were written by David Hume in 1742 to describe one of the central figures of eighteen ́s century Britain- Robert Walpole. Walpole is considered the first Prime Minister of Great Britain, although the position “Prime Minister” had no recognition in official use at the time. He has headed various government offices on his way to the top of Parliament until he reached it as First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1721. Walpole dominated English politics from 1722-1742. His governance period was a powerful era in British history, an era of prosperity and peace. He deliberately cultivated a frank, hearty manner, but his political subtlety has scarcely been equaled. But who was this intelligent, zealous and energetic man? How was he able to reach the top of the Ministry and remain there for the longest spell in history? And what caused the downfall of a rather successful man? These are the central questions covered in this paper. First part of it will be about the early life of Robert Walpole. Afterwards I will have a closer look inside his early political career and subsequently I want to focus on his rise to power. Third and fourth part of the paper I will develop his premiership under George I and George II. In the last part I want to have a look at the last years of premiership und simultaneously I will try to work out the reasons for his downfall.