Synopses & Reviews
In the heyday of Empire just before the First World War, Lord Cromer was second only to Lord Curzon in fame and public esteem. In the days when Cairo and Calcutta represented the twin poles of British power in Asia and Africa, Cromer's commanding presence seemed to radiate the essential spirit of imperial rule. In this first modern biography Roger Owen charts the life of the man revered by the British and hated by today's Egyptians, the real ruler of Egypt for a quarter of a century.
Synopsis
In the heyday of Empire just before the First World War, Lord Cromer was second only to Lord Curzon in fame and public esteem. In the days when Cairo and Calcutta represented the twin poles of British power in Asia and Africa, Cromer's commanding presence seemed to radiate the essential spirit of imperial rule. In this first modern biography Roger Owen charts the life of the man revered by the British and hated by today's Egyptians, the real ruler of Egypt for a quarter of a century.
Table of Contents
Part I: The Training of an Officer and a Gentleman 1. A Norfolk Childhood 1841-1852
2. A Military Education 1852-1859
3. Garrison Life in Corfu 1858-1864
4. Helping to Govern Malta but with Many Excursions 1864-1867
5. Staff Officer and Military Reformer 1867-1872
Part II: An Apprenticeship in Imperial Government and International Finance: India and Egypt 1872-1883
6. The Vice-Viceroy: India 1872-1876
7. Marriage, the End of a Military Career, and off to the East Again 1876-1879
8. Controlling Egypt's Finances 1879-1880
9. Lord Ripon's Right-Hand Man in India 1880-1883
Part III: Governing Egypt 1883-1907
10. Digging In: September 1883 to Summer 1885
11. Surviving the Drummond Wolff Mission and the 'Race against Bankruptcy'
12. Asserting British Control 1887-1891
13. Cracking the Whip 1892-1895
14. Sudan Again and the Tragedy of Ethel's Death 1895-1899
15. Years of Economic Success 1900-1904
16. Things Fall Apart 1904-1907
17. Return to England 1907-1908
Part IV: Re-immersion in British Political Life 1908-1917
18. An Active Retirement 1908-1914
19. The World War, the Dardanelles Commission and Death 1914-1917
20. Conclusion: A Life in Government
Bibliography
Index