The diaries of the fourth duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne [1785-1851] provide an unrivalled insight into the politics of the ‘age of reform’, during the late-1820s and 1830s, from the perspective of a prominent political critic. Newcastle was a well known defender of the constitutional status quo and used his position in the house of lords, his family’s historic electoral influence and personal contacts with the leading royal and political figures of the dayto argue the case against change. He was also a leading participant in ultra-tory parliamentary groups such as the ‘king’s friends’ and the ‘country party’. His diaries offer not just invaluable detail on these activities, but also a vivid personal testimony of Newcastle’s political creed, and cast important light on the hopes, fears and strategies of those who resisted ‘the triumph of reform’ during these years.
This edition reproduces the politicalcontent of the diaries and Newcastle’s published letters to the press for the period 1827-38; it is accompanied with an extensive introduction placing the diaries in their historical context, and other apparatus.