Author Biography
James H. Murphy, Professor of English at DePaul University, Chicago, is a leading scholar of nineteenth-century Ireland, working in political history and the history of fiction. Recent books include Irish Novelists and the Victorian Age (2011) and, as editor, The Oxford History of the Irish Book, Vol. 4, The Irish Book in English, 1800-91 (2011).
Description
The fifth Earl Spencer was lord lieutenant of Ireland twice (1868-71, 1882-5). It was a problematic office, combing both symbolic, constitutional aspects with an administrative role that could embroil it in politics. On the first occasion Spencer managed to save the office from political controversy. On the second, during the politically turbulent 1880s, he was given an explicit mandate to act as a governing lord lieutenant. This effectively produced the appearance of a bifurcated government with the Liberal government at Westminster able psychologically to distance itself from the Irish Executive under Spencer. Equally, the Irish Parliamentary Party, effected a bifurcated opposition. This work continues the argument of the author's 2001 book, Abject Loyalty: Nationalism and Monarch in Ireland during the Reign of Queen Victoria, that in nineteenth-century Ireland, political affinity with Britain was damaged by the sacrifice for short-term political ends of constitutional offices (such as the monarchy and lord lieutenancy) that were important for bolstering that affinity.This ground-breaking study, exploring the career intricacies of lord lieutenant Earl Spencer, sheds new light on an area of Irish History, as of yet, largely unexplored.
Contents
- Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
- Inhabiting the Lord Lieutenancy
Government and Monarchy
Church and Amnesty
Land and Fenians
Coercion and Home Rule
Hartington and Westmeath
Callan and Universities
Reshuffle and Departure
Empress and Land War
Return and Treaty
Murder and Prosecution
Crimes Act and Police
Massacre and Tyranny
Accusing Spirits and Local Government
Franchise and Dynamite
Visits and Invasion
Castle and Commons
Central Board and Royalty
Maamtrasna and Hawarden
Gladstone and Chamberlain
Parnell and Spencer
Conclusion
- Eroding the Link
Notes
Index.
‘James Murphy has performed historians a great service by shedding light on one of Ireland’s less well-known viceroys in his latest book … This work adds to the recent trend among historians of nineteenth-century Ireland to investigate Dublin castle administration in more detail.’
Summer 2016
Journal of Liberal History
You can read the full review here
'The work is scholarly in nature, and although it reads like a biography, it is an invaluable study of the political climate in the Anglo-Irish relations, the British government under Gladstone, and the effects of lord lieutenancy as an official position. If you enjoy well researched, detailed history of Ireland/Britain during 1868/1886 James H. Murphy does a brilliant job of recreating little known or forgotten history to life.'
December 2014
The Irish Story
'This substantial and authoritative book argues that the “bifurcated government” of Ireland from Westminster and Dublin Castle allowed all the odium of coercion to fall on Spencer.'
October 2014
Donal McCartney, The Irish Times
'Spencer’s approach to Ireland mirrored that of his political mentor, Gladstone. He believed in firm government – coercion as deemed necessary to preserve law and order – but accompanied by real reform in the areas of land, education, religion and infrastructure.'
September 2014
Felix M Larkin, The Irish Catholic