Sir Robert Peel : Contemporary Perspectives, Volume III by Richard Gaunt ...

Taylor & Francis Ltd

Sir Robert Peel (1788-1850) was one of the most significant political figures in nineteenth-century Britain. He was also one of the most controversial. In this new, three-volume edition, Dr Richard Gaunt, an authority on Peel\u2019s life and work, brings together a range of contemporary perspectives considering Peel\u2019s life and achievements. From the first observation of Peel\u2019s precocious talent as an Oxford undergraduate to his burgeoning reputation as a cabinet minister, the volumes draw together sources on Peel\u2019s forty-year political career. The edition pays particular attention to the most controversial aspects of his political life \u2013 the granting of Catholic Emancipation in 1829, his \u2018founding\u2019 of the Conservative Party during the 1830s and the achievements of his landmark government of 1841-6, culminating in the repeal of the corn laws in 1846. It also considers Peel\u2019s post-1846 career, and the unusual position he occupied in British politics b.