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Winston Churchill described Joseph Chamberlain as ´the man who made the weather´ for twenty years in British politics between the 1880s and the 1900s. This volume contains contributions on every aspect of Chamberlain´s career, including international and cultural perspectives hitherto ignored by his many biographers. It breaks his career into three aspects: his career as an international statesman, defender of British interests and champion of imperial federation; his role as a national leader, opposing Gladstone´s crusade for Irish home rule by forming an alliance with the Conservatives, campaigning for social reform and finally advocating a protectionist economic policy to promote British business; and the aspect for which he is still celebrated in his adopted city, as the provider of sanitation, gas lighting, clean water and cultural achievement for Birmingham - a model of civic regeneration that still inspires modern politicians such as Michael Heseltine, Tristram Hunt and David Willetts.

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Foreword; Sir Alan Beith
Introduction: Did Joseph Chamberlain Really ´Make the Weather´?; Peter Marsh
PART I: INTERNATIONAL STATESMAN
1.´Intimately Dependent on Foreign Policy´: Joseph Chamberlain and Foreign Policy; T.G. Otte
2. Joseph Chamberlain in South Africa; Jackie Grobler
3. ´King Joe´ and ´King Dick´: Joseph Chamberlain and Richard Seddon; Tom Brooking
PART II: NATIONAL LEADER
4. Chamberlain and Gladstone: An Overview of their Relationship; Roland Quinault
5. Joseph Chamberlain and Leonard Courtney: Freely Disagreeing Radicals?; Eleanor Tench
6. ´The People´s Bread´: A Social History of Joseph Chamberlain and the Tariff Reform Campaign; Oliver Betts
PART III: LOCAL ICON
7. George Dixon and Joseph Chamberlain: Friends, Rivals and Even Enemies; James Dixon
8. Joseph Chamberlain and the Birmingham Satirical Journals, 1876-1911; Ian Cawood and Chris Upton
9. Birmingham´s Protestant Non-Conformity in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries; Andrew Vail
Conclusion: Joseph Chamberlain: His Legacy and Reputation; Ian Cawood

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"This collection greatly contributes to our understanding of one of history´s might-havebeens - tremendous focus, but in the end too much focus and not enough flexibility. This is not a comprehensive biography of Chamberlain, but covers much of the basic ground while throwing light not only on less explored aspects of his career but late 19th century politics in general." (Stewart Rayment, Liberator, Issue 388, January, 2018)
"This volume brings together in printed form various papers presented to a conference at Newman University, Birmingham in 2014 commemorating the centenary of Chamberlain´s death. ... This book is an excellent and most welcome addition to the study of Joseph Chamberlain and of British politics in the late-Victorian and Edwardian eras." (Dr. Iain Sharpe, history.ac.uk, September, 2016)

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