Lord Lyons: A Diplomat in an Age of Nationalism and War

by Brian Jenkins

Overview

The British ambassador in Washington during the US Civil War and ambassador in Paris before and after the Franco-Prussian war, Lord Lyons (1817-1887) was one of the most important diplomats of the Victorian period. Although frequently featured in histories of the United States and Europe in the second half of the nineteenth century, and in discussions and analyses of British foreign policy, he has remained an ill-defined figure. In Lord Lyons: A Diplomat in an Age of Nationalism and War, Brian Jenkins explains the man and examines his career. Based on a staggering study of primary sources, he presents a convincing portrait of a subject who rarely revealed himself personally. Though he avoided publicity, Lyons came to be regarded as his nation's premier diplomat as his career took him to the heart of the great international issues and crises of his generation. As minister to the United States he played a vital role in preserving Anglo-American peace and was a powerful voice opposing Anglo-French intervention in the Civil War. While ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, he helped to prevent French control of the Suez Canal then under construction. In France, he maintained an amiable and constructive relationship with a bitter nation struggling to reorganize itself and its constitution after the Franco-Prussian War. For many historians Lord Lyons has been difficult to ignore but hard to admire. In rescuing him as a truly important historical figure, Jenkins details for the first time the personal and public strategies Lyons employed through decades of exemplary diplomatic service on both sides of the Atlantic.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780773544093
Publisher:	McGill-Queens University Press
Publication date:	08/30/2014
Pages:	564
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Brian Jenkins is emeritus professor of history at Bishop's University and the author of numerous books, including The Fenian Problem: Insurgency and Terrorism in a Liberal State, 1858-1874.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Illustrations ix

Introduction 3

1 Beginnings 16

2 Rome 39

3 Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary 69

4 The United States 95

5 The Disunited States 119

6 The American Civil War 150

7 Crisis 174

8 Intervention? 198

9 Marking Time 222

10 Ambassador to the Sublime Porte 249

11 To the Diplomatic Summit 271

12 Ambassador to a Liberalizing Empire 296

13 The Fall of the Second Empire 325

14 Monarchy or Republic? 354

15 The Third Republic 385

16 Endings 416

Notes 453

Index 527

Editorial Reviews

"Seamlessly woven from innumerable narrative threads, Lord Lyons is a vivid tapestry that brings the international history of the nineteenth century magnificently to life. Jenkins has risen brilliantly to the challenge of conveying both the specifics of diplomacy and the dramatic stage – replete with countless fascinating actors – on which it played." Martin Crawford, emeritus professor of Anglo-American history, Keele University


“Jenkins has provided a meticulously researched, full-scale biography of Lord Lyons, one of Britain’s most important diplomats of the Victorian period.” Muriel E. Chamberlain, Department of History, Swansea University


“ … Jenkins’s exhaustive work with primary sources makes this the fullest and most reliable discussion of Lyons’s public and private lives yet published. It is a welcome addition to the field.” H-Net Reviews

From the Publisher