Neville Chamberlain (Reputations Series)

Neville Chamberlain remains one of the most controversial figures of twentieth-century British politics. For many years he was admired, even revered, throughout Britain. After serving as Prime Minister, however, Chamberlain left office a reviled and disdained public figure. This book seeks to explain these extremes while offering the author's assessment of what Chamberlain's historical reputation ought to be. David Dutton is Professor of Twentieth-Century British Political History, University of Liverpool, UK Neville Chamberlain remains one of the most controversial figures of twentieth-century British politics. For many years he was admired, even revered, throughout Britain. After serving as Prime Minister, however, Chamberlain left office a reviled and disdained public figure. This book seeks to explain these extremes while offering the author's assessment of what Chamberlain's historical reputation ought to be. Neville Chamberlain remains one of the most controversial figures of twentieth-century British politics. For many years he was admired, even revered, throughout Britain. After serving as Prime Minister, however, Chamberlain left office a reviled and disdained public figure. This book seeks to explain these extremes while offering the author's assessment of what Chamberlain's historical reputation ought to be. "Dutton shows a remarkable command of the historiographical thickets, and leads the reader through its labyrinths lucidly and with commendable dry wit."—Times Literary Supplement  "The clarity of Dutton's prose, his adept use of the primary sources, and his command of the secondary literature will impress every reader. Indeed the book is an exemplary historiographical analysis. Dutton's study of Neville Chamberlain and his political career should be made compulsory reading for history undergraduates."—The International History Review