JFK's Favorite Biography...
“As for confidence of the Crown.” She exclaims, “God Knows!
No Ministers, no friend EVER possessed it of entirely as this truly excellent
Lord Melbourne possesses mine.” Queen
Victoria
Melbourne by David Cecil
Hey 1000 Bookies!! The 1,000 Books to Read Before
You Die has all genres of books, not just classic novels by such luminaries
as Jane Austin, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain or Leo Tolstoy. This week I am discussing a biography
included on this very august list. Melbourne
is a personal and political biography regarding the life of William Lamb, the 2nd
Viscount Melbourne. Viscount Melbourne
was the two-time Prime Minister of Great Britain. He served his first time in 1834, and again
from 1835 to 1841. The biography was
written by David Cecil, himself the grandson of a British Prime Minister. Cecil’s grandfather, Lord Salisbury, was a
three term Prime Minister and a favorite of Queen Victoria. Lord Salisbury was Prime Minister when the
Queen died in 1901, whereas Lord Melbourne was Prime Minister when Princess Victoria
ascended the throne.
One of the claims to fame of this biography is that David
Cecil’s Melbourne was one of the favorites, if not the favorite
book of President John F. Kennedy. James
Mustich discusses this in his write up on the biography. I had read that same thing many years ago and
purchased a copy of the book because of the Kennedy connection. Melbourne is approximately 430
pages in length. Originally released as
two smaller biographies, they have since been combined. The lens with which I read this biography was
why the book was a favorite of President Kennedy. How would the President of the United States
come to enjoy this biography? Why did
President Kennedy like this book so much? Those were the questions I set up and
answer myself.
William Lamb was not born for greatness. He was the second son of the 1st
Viscount Melbourne and his wife, Elizabeth Milbanke. After the oldest son, Peniston Lamb, the
question who the parentage of the rest of the Lamb children is murky at best. There were 8 children in total. President Kennedy was a second son of a
rather large family, who was never supposed to advance out of the shadow of his
older brother. Yet Peniston Lamb and
Joseph Kennedy, Jr died young opening the door for their younger brothers to
lead in ways they had not been expecting.
Another major similarity was Lady Melbourne’s insistence that the Lamb
children be a close unit supporting each other.
Rose Kennedy with her husband build the Kennedy’s into a similar
unit. They loved each other and
socialized with each other. Lambs and
the Kennedy’s were tribes molded to support each other. The only one who did not seem to be a Member
of the Lamb Tribe was the father, he seems largely ignored. To gain some perspective William Lamb and
Jane Austin were contemporaries and the society of her novels was the society that
William grew up in.
The Lambs were members of the Whig political party and
society in Great Britain. The Whigs were
the party that helped accomplish the Glorious
Revolution which overthrew King James II in 1688. The Whigs were the party to ensure protestant
succession with the German Hanoverians.
By the time of the Regency era of George III and the Prince of Wales
(the Future George IV), the Whigs were a spent party and needed a rebirth.
The Whig party was the more progressive or liberal party in Great
Britain as opposed to the Torie Party, supporting the rights and privileges of
individuals as well as the interests of the merchant class. The Whig party that Melbourne would inherit
and come to lead was a Hodge podge of interest groups (similar to the
Democratic Party) with the original individual rights persuasion, mercantile
interests, the Radicals and the Irish jostling for reform.
William Lamb’s life was dominated by women. First his mother, then his wife and finally
his queen. William was very close to
his mother as she strove to build a family out of the Lamb children. She
encourages his career in law. She used
her connections in society to further her children’s lives—her son in politics,
her daughter into an advantageous marriage.
Vicountess Melbourne was close with the King and Royals to the ultimate
benefit of her children. As a young man,
William marries Lady Caroline Ponsonby.
They met when they were younger, and William was taken with her. She was supposedly very beautiful, and we
understand why William was in love.
However, with great beauty came great sadness. Lady Caroline, to say the
least, was mentally off balance and may have been full-fledged mentally
ill. Yet her husband stood by her
side. Caroline is best known for her
affair with the famous and infamous British poet and politician, Lord
Byron. The Melbournes’ had one child who
was either retarded or autistic? Lady
Caroline could not have any more children and miscarried many times which could
have been a contributing factor to her mental illness. Also career wise, the early years of their
marriage—William was in and out of the House of Commons, not taking politics
seriously.
One of the themes of William Lamb’s life is duty--duty to
one’s family, duty to one’s political party, and duty to one’s monarch. William was always dutiful to Caroline, even
when his family pushed for a formal separation and the paperwork was drawn up.
A distraught and crying Caroline stopped William from signing. Caroline did die in 1828 before his career
advanced. William was a Whig and
followed the party even when he did not agree with it. The Whigs were sent on a path of political,
economic reform, religious and educational reform. Melbourne actually personally opposed the
reform efforts but ultimately supported his party. Melbourne was fairly unsympathetic to the
poor, once complaining about the novel Oliver Twist for focusing on
the poor. Finally, Melbourne was loyal
to the Queen and guided the young monarch from the moment she became
Queen.
Melbourne began his political and rise to power
relatively later in life. He held three
offices in the government. First, he was
Chief Secretary for Ireland, a thankless job for over one year. He was known for his sympathy for the Catholic
population in Ireland and recommended reforms. Then he was transferred to the
Home Office and finally because King William IV could not stand anyone else in
his party, he was appointed Prime Minister and formed a government. Much was not known about Melbourne because he
did not keep a diary and there was spotty and limited correspondence. However, we get an idea about him through the
meticulous diary of Queen Victoria.
Two years into his premiership, on June 20, 1837,
Melbourne informed an 18-year-old Princess that she was the Queen of
England. According to Robert Massie, “Their
relationship was a blend of daughter and father, adoring younger woman and
elegant, urbane older man—and sovereign and subject…She proclaimed him, “the
best-hearted, kindest, and most feeling man in the world””. By the time Melbourne met the Queen
his wife was dead as well as his son.
His relationship with the Queen was very special and he prolonged
staying in office to be near the Queen and
support her. His duty overruled any
other considerations. His relationships
with colleagues and his handling of the Queen is fascinating. However, his last years out of power and out
of the orbit of Victoria was very sad.
Melbourne is an ok biography. I believe I understand why its on the list of
the 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die.
One, President Kennedy was a student of history and his recommendation
for books is a seal of approval. Second,
because of Melbourne’s personal history for the literary giant, Lord Byron, the
scandal has reverberated through the decades.
And finally interest in Melbourne stems solely from his leadership at
the beginning of Victorian era. If your
interest lies in reading biographies, I would give it a try. Other than that, I would take a pass on this
book. Be Safe and Keep Reading My
Friends…
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