What do you think?
Rate this book
David Lloyd George: A Biography
Biography of David Lloyd George
872 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
1 person is currently reading
78 people want to read
About the author
Peter Rowland
50 books4 followersPeter Rowland is a wildlife conservationist, educator and nature photographer who worked at the Australian Natural History Museum for a period spanning 20 years.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 9, 2019
Antidisestablishmentarianism is not only the longest word in the English language, it is also the most boring subject in English history that one will ever read about. It is thus perhaps inevitable that Peter Rowland's "David Lloyd George" would be a truly brutal slog as it plumbs the topic to its utter depth. The inherit problems involved in the book are however considerably exacerbated by Rowland's ghastly writing.
Lloyd George is potentially an interesting subject. He was an eloquent orator, a tireless worker and a relentless fornicator. He was the man who began the creation of the welfare state, destroyed the liberal party, conceded independence to Ireland, won World War I and negotiated the subsequent treaties that created 15 new countries that in various forms are still with us today. The basic challenge for any biographer is to confine and control a project of such enormous scope.
Rowland's approach is to too simply tell the tale of Lloyd George's life and to make no attempt to write the history of his times. Thus Rowland focuses exclusively on Lloyd George's manoeuvres as a Munitions Minister and later Prime Minister during WWI essentially ignoring the military campaigns of the conflict. Rowland analyses the negotiations that lead to the creation of the Treaty of Versailles but is mum on the topic of Lloyd Georges relations with Woodrow Wilson. Rowland discusses the fight to disestablish the Anglican Church in Wales for persistently during the first 200 pages of his book but not does not bother to cover the debates in 1914 over the Welsh Church Act that finally effected the disestablishment because Lloyd George as Chancellor of t he Exchequer was not responsible for the legislation having moved on to bigger things.
Generally, one can attribute the gaps in the narrative to Rowland's decision to focus on Lloyd George's actions rather than of peripheral events that he did not participate in directly. One omission that is very hard to explain however is that there is no discussion of England's decision to refuse to allow Tsar Nicholas II and his family to come to England in the wake of Bolshevik revolution effectively condemning them to death. Currently, the refusal to offer the Tsar and his family safe haven is blamed on King George V rather than Lloyd George. Nonetheless, Rowland's silence on the topic is disconcerting to say the least.
What Rowland does do brilliantly is to tell the tale of how the son of a lower middle-class Unitarian minister and native Welsh speaker would build a political career and become Prime Minister of Great Britain. When he started out, Lloyd George never dreamed that he would become Prime Minister as his ethnicity and social class seemed to preclude such a possibility. He spent his first fifteen years in Parliament as a Liberal backbencher establishing himself as the leader of the Welsh Home Rule movement. Eventually because of his intelligence and drive he received a cabinet position in 1905. During WWI he shone first as Munitions Minister and then as War Minister. He became Prime Minister in 1916 when it became obvious that he was the only Parliamentarian with the determined required to win the War.
Rowland makes it clear that it was Lloyd George who killed the Liberal Party. First he put the cause of winning the war ahead of the interests of the Liberal Party. Later it was his personal ambitions that took precedence of the good of the party. Lloyd George thus accomplished great things but he reduced the Liberals to a splinter group in the British Group.
Rowland is at times quite cruel towards Lloyd George. He makes it quite clear that during the 1930s, he admired Hitler for his dynamic approach. During the early stages of WWII, Rowland implies that Lloyd George harboured ambitions of being an English Petain ruling Britain under Hitler's tutelage.
Generally it can be said, that Rowland's biography of Lloyd George improves as it moves along. Unfortunately Rowland has neither the interest required nor the flair to make the Welsh Home Rule movement interesting. The first quarter of the book then is excruciatingly dull. Overall it can be said that the dull passages overwhelm the lively ones. Reader's should be aware before embarking that this work however admirable never entertains.
Lloyd George is potentially an interesting subject. He was an eloquent orator, a tireless worker and a relentless fornicator. He was the man who began the creation of the welfare state, destroyed the liberal party, conceded independence to Ireland, won World War I and negotiated the subsequent treaties that created 15 new countries that in various forms are still with us today. The basic challenge for any biographer is to confine and control a project of such enormous scope.
Rowland's approach is to too simply tell the tale of Lloyd George's life and to make no attempt to write the history of his times. Thus Rowland focuses exclusively on Lloyd George's manoeuvres as a Munitions Minister and later Prime Minister during WWI essentially ignoring the military campaigns of the conflict. Rowland analyses the negotiations that lead to the creation of the Treaty of Versailles but is mum on the topic of Lloyd Georges relations with Woodrow Wilson. Rowland discusses the fight to disestablish the Anglican Church in Wales for persistently during the first 200 pages of his book but not does not bother to cover the debates in 1914 over the Welsh Church Act that finally effected the disestablishment because Lloyd George as Chancellor of t he Exchequer was not responsible for the legislation having moved on to bigger things.
Generally, one can attribute the gaps in the narrative to Rowland's decision to focus on Lloyd George's actions rather than of peripheral events that he did not participate in directly. One omission that is very hard to explain however is that there is no discussion of England's decision to refuse to allow Tsar Nicholas II and his family to come to England in the wake of Bolshevik revolution effectively condemning them to death. Currently, the refusal to offer the Tsar and his family safe haven is blamed on King George V rather than Lloyd George. Nonetheless, Rowland's silence on the topic is disconcerting to say the least.
What Rowland does do brilliantly is to tell the tale of how the son of a lower middle-class Unitarian minister and native Welsh speaker would build a political career and become Prime Minister of Great Britain. When he started out, Lloyd George never dreamed that he would become Prime Minister as his ethnicity and social class seemed to preclude such a possibility. He spent his first fifteen years in Parliament as a Liberal backbencher establishing himself as the leader of the Welsh Home Rule movement. Eventually because of his intelligence and drive he received a cabinet position in 1905. During WWI he shone first as Munitions Minister and then as War Minister. He became Prime Minister in 1916 when it became obvious that he was the only Parliamentarian with the determined required to win the War.
Rowland makes it clear that it was Lloyd George who killed the Liberal Party. First he put the cause of winning the war ahead of the interests of the Liberal Party. Later it was his personal ambitions that took precedence of the good of the party. Lloyd George thus accomplished great things but he reduced the Liberals to a splinter group in the British Group.
Rowland is at times quite cruel towards Lloyd George. He makes it quite clear that during the 1930s, he admired Hitler for his dynamic approach. During the early stages of WWII, Rowland implies that Lloyd George harboured ambitions of being an English Petain ruling Britain under Hitler's tutelage.
Generally it can be said, that Rowland's biography of Lloyd George improves as it moves along. Unfortunately Rowland has neither the interest required nor the flair to make the Welsh Home Rule movement interesting. The first quarter of the book then is excruciatingly dull. Overall it can be said that the dull passages overwhelm the lively ones. Reader's should be aware before embarking that this work however admirable never entertains.
July 14, 2015
Though often overshadowed by his Second World War counterpart Winston Churchill, David Lloyd George had a political career that was nearly as long and just as impressive in its accomplishments. Born in Manchester in 1863, the young David moved with the rest of his family to Llanystumdwy after the death of his father, where they were taken in by David's uncle Richard Lloyd. Excelling in school, he embarked on a career as a solicitor, though this soon proved to be a stepping stone into politics. Rowland depicts the young politician as actively focused on Welsh issues, particularly disestablishment and land reform. Yet his ambitions soon propeled the young MP beyond the boundaries of regional concerns, and beginning with his active - and controversial - stand against the Boer War he emerged as an increasingly prominent member of the `Radical' wing of the Liberal Party.
With the formation of the Liberal Government in the aftermath of Balfour's resignation, Lloyd George took office, first as President of the Board of Trade, then as Chancellor of the Exchequer after Asquith's promotion to the premiership in 1908. As Chancellor he supervised the passage of a bill granting old age pensions and championed the cause of a comprehensive land valuation as a prelude to taxing the great landlords of Britain. The increased financial burden caused by the pensions, coupled with the growing expenditures on the navy, led to the introduction of the famous `People's Budget' in 1909 and the political showdown which resulted in two general elections and the emasculation of the House of Lords.
Soon after his success in this battle, Lloyd George began his long-term romantic relationship with Frances Stevenson, who went from being tutor to his daughter Megan to his private secretary. She proved to be the most enduring of the many affairs Lloyd George embarked upon during his lifetime. Rowland does not downplay Lloyd George's habitual philandering, and the relationship between Lloyd George and his first wife Margaret is depicted as having reached a mutual understanding on the matter. Despite these affairs, Lloyd George retained a deep affection for Margaret, and Rowland notes that the maintenance of their marriage ensured his political survival.
Like million of other Britons, Lloyd George's life was changed by his country's entry into the First World War. Initially hesitant about involvement, he soon chafed at the government's conduct of the war. As a result of the `shells scandal' he became the head of a new Ministry of Munitions, where he circumvented War Office inertia in equipping Britain's growing army. Rowland states that these efforts to transform Britain into a nation at war were Lloyd George's greatest contribution to Britain's victory, and they increasingly marked him out as the most dynamic member of the government. In spite of his continued dissatisfaction with Asquith's conduct of the war, however, Rowland argues that Lloyd George would have preferred to work as a `power behind the throne' rather than as Asquith's replacement. Yet when Asquith resigned in December 1916, Lloyd George took office as the only person capable of maintaining the governing coalition.
As prime minister, Lloyd George presided over a government composed of the Unionist Party and the Liberals who chose not to follow Asquith's example in resigning. His greatest battles at this time were with the military, particularly with General Haig and his command of British forces on the Western Front. Rowland is good at recounting the political infighting that comprised this struggle, noting the limitations to the Prime Minister's authority even at this stage of the war. Perhaps the greatest limitation on his power, though, was the Unionist domination of his government. While Lloyd George worked well with the Unionists with whom he governed, his dependence on their parliamentary support - which only increased after the postwar `coupon' election of 1918 - left him dangerously vulnerable to their goodwill for his continued survival.
The end of the war thus left Lloyd George in a dominant yet tenuous position. As a key participant in the Paris peace negotiations he relished his role as a world statesman, though his belief in conciliation was hampered by French intransigence. Back home Lloyd George faced a number of crises, particularly with skyrocketing unemployment and the increasingly violent opposition to British rule in Ireland. Though Lloyd George ultimately cobbled together a solution, the resulting partition alienated many of the rank-and-file in the Unionist parliamentary party, and this, coupled with his blatant sale of honours and his efforts to manipulate public opinion, ultimately cost him his premiership. Lloyd George rejoined the weakened Liberals in opposition, but his continued tension with Asquith's supporters diminished his influence in the party, while his dynamic solutions to the ongoing unemployment problems of the interwar period were ignored by both the Conservatives and the Labour Party.
Faced with a career as long and accomplished as this, Rowland was faced with a challenge to compress everything into one volume. Often this forces him to pass over events by noting that the details were recounted elsewhere - a regrettable but understandable device considering the scope of his project, though it would have been helped if he noted which volumes the reader could turn to for additional detail. More problematic is his heavy reliance on the diaries of Lord Riddell for much of his information, a source that most historians treat with skepticism. Nevertheless, the overall result is the best one-volume biography of Lloyd George available, a valuable summary of the life and times of a dominant political figure in modern British history.
With the formation of the Liberal Government in the aftermath of Balfour's resignation, Lloyd George took office, first as President of the Board of Trade, then as Chancellor of the Exchequer after Asquith's promotion to the premiership in 1908. As Chancellor he supervised the passage of a bill granting old age pensions and championed the cause of a comprehensive land valuation as a prelude to taxing the great landlords of Britain. The increased financial burden caused by the pensions, coupled with the growing expenditures on the navy, led to the introduction of the famous `People's Budget' in 1909 and the political showdown which resulted in two general elections and the emasculation of the House of Lords.
Soon after his success in this battle, Lloyd George began his long-term romantic relationship with Frances Stevenson, who went from being tutor to his daughter Megan to his private secretary. She proved to be the most enduring of the many affairs Lloyd George embarked upon during his lifetime. Rowland does not downplay Lloyd George's habitual philandering, and the relationship between Lloyd George and his first wife Margaret is depicted as having reached a mutual understanding on the matter. Despite these affairs, Lloyd George retained a deep affection for Margaret, and Rowland notes that the maintenance of their marriage ensured his political survival.
Like million of other Britons, Lloyd George's life was changed by his country's entry into the First World War. Initially hesitant about involvement, he soon chafed at the government's conduct of the war. As a result of the `shells scandal' he became the head of a new Ministry of Munitions, where he circumvented War Office inertia in equipping Britain's growing army. Rowland states that these efforts to transform Britain into a nation at war were Lloyd George's greatest contribution to Britain's victory, and they increasingly marked him out as the most dynamic member of the government. In spite of his continued dissatisfaction with Asquith's conduct of the war, however, Rowland argues that Lloyd George would have preferred to work as a `power behind the throne' rather than as Asquith's replacement. Yet when Asquith resigned in December 1916, Lloyd George took office as the only person capable of maintaining the governing coalition.
As prime minister, Lloyd George presided over a government composed of the Unionist Party and the Liberals who chose not to follow Asquith's example in resigning. His greatest battles at this time were with the military, particularly with General Haig and his command of British forces on the Western Front. Rowland is good at recounting the political infighting that comprised this struggle, noting the limitations to the Prime Minister's authority even at this stage of the war. Perhaps the greatest limitation on his power, though, was the Unionist domination of his government. While Lloyd George worked well with the Unionists with whom he governed, his dependence on their parliamentary support - which only increased after the postwar `coupon' election of 1918 - left him dangerously vulnerable to their goodwill for his continued survival.
The end of the war thus left Lloyd George in a dominant yet tenuous position. As a key participant in the Paris peace negotiations he relished his role as a world statesman, though his belief in conciliation was hampered by French intransigence. Back home Lloyd George faced a number of crises, particularly with skyrocketing unemployment and the increasingly violent opposition to British rule in Ireland. Though Lloyd George ultimately cobbled together a solution, the resulting partition alienated many of the rank-and-file in the Unionist parliamentary party, and this, coupled with his blatant sale of honours and his efforts to manipulate public opinion, ultimately cost him his premiership. Lloyd George rejoined the weakened Liberals in opposition, but his continued tension with Asquith's supporters diminished his influence in the party, while his dynamic solutions to the ongoing unemployment problems of the interwar period were ignored by both the Conservatives and the Labour Party.
Faced with a career as long and accomplished as this, Rowland was faced with a challenge to compress everything into one volume. Often this forces him to pass over events by noting that the details were recounted elsewhere - a regrettable but understandable device considering the scope of his project, though it would have been helped if he noted which volumes the reader could turn to for additional detail. More problematic is his heavy reliance on the diaries of Lord Riddell for much of his information, a source that most historians treat with skepticism. Nevertheless, the overall result is the best one-volume biography of Lloyd George available, a valuable summary of the life and times of a dominant political figure in modern British history.
October 14, 2012
David Lloyd George was at times nicknamed the "goat" for his ravenous sexual appetite and the "Welsh
Wizard" for his political acumen which took him to head his country's government in some perilous
times. World War I to be precise. He led his country to final victory there.
Before that Lloyd George was a poor kid, the first to rise not from titled nobility or the landed
gentry to become prime minister of the United Kingdom. He came off the back benches of Parliament
to oppose the UK's intervention in the Boer States of South Africa. As Chancellor of the Exchequer
he proposed in 1908 the People's Budget which was the real foundation of the welfare state in Great
Britain.
Later on during World War I he pulled a palace coup d'etat against Herbert Asquith with the Tories
and became Prime Minister of a Coalition government with the Tories essentially underwriting him.
After a coup d'etat was pulled on him in 1922, what goes around comes around, Lloyd George spent the rest of his life trying most unsuccessfully to regain power. During the last years of his life during the second World War he was on the opposition back bench in the Parliament. Weeks before he died in 1945 he accepted a peerage, but never sat in the House of Lords.
In terms of mastery of Parliament and an ability to get things done, David Lloyd George compares on this side of the pond to Lyndon Johnson. He also compares with him in terms of totally ruthless
tactics to accomplish his goals. Married to Dame Margaret for over 50 years, he had a libido that should have gotten him in the Guinness Book of World records. He was not the most ethical of office holders, he was determined not to be poor again and accomplished that many times over.
A many sided and complex man, Peter Rowland looks at all sides of David Lloyd George. Just the single chapter on the coup against Asquith is a political junkie's delight.
Wizard" for his political acumen which took him to head his country's government in some perilous
times. World War I to be precise. He led his country to final victory there.
Before that Lloyd George was a poor kid, the first to rise not from titled nobility or the landed
gentry to become prime minister of the United Kingdom. He came off the back benches of Parliament
to oppose the UK's intervention in the Boer States of South Africa. As Chancellor of the Exchequer
he proposed in 1908 the People's Budget which was the real foundation of the welfare state in Great
Britain.
Later on during World War I he pulled a palace coup d'etat against Herbert Asquith with the Tories
and became Prime Minister of a Coalition government with the Tories essentially underwriting him.
After a coup d'etat was pulled on him in 1922, what goes around comes around, Lloyd George spent the rest of his life trying most unsuccessfully to regain power. During the last years of his life during the second World War he was on the opposition back bench in the Parliament. Weeks before he died in 1945 he accepted a peerage, but never sat in the House of Lords.
In terms of mastery of Parliament and an ability to get things done, David Lloyd George compares on this side of the pond to Lyndon Johnson. He also compares with him in terms of totally ruthless
tactics to accomplish his goals. Married to Dame Margaret for over 50 years, he had a libido that should have gotten him in the Guinness Book of World records. He was not the most ethical of office holders, he was determined not to be poor again and accomplished that many times over.
A many sided and complex man, Peter Rowland looks at all sides of David Lloyd George. Just the single chapter on the coup against Asquith is a political junkie's delight.
April 18, 2025
Superbly written, but marked down for being excessively flattering, with about two paragraphs in total covering the Marconi scandal, the honours scandal and a complete whitewash of the Fund.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.