Gladstone

"And my last choice is about Disraeli. Gladstone and Disraeli were the two boxing champions of the Victorian era. They disliked each other and they fought each other. They were in and out of power in turn. They were both very capable people. Disraeli didn’t smile or laugh much. But he was a brilliant orator. And Gladstone lost control of himself a bit. He got in a very bad temper from time to time. They were both intelligent people but they didn’t get on with each other at all. I think Roy Jenkins is too kind to Gladstone. I think Gladstone had his faults and I think Roy is slightly too favourable towards him. If you are writing a biography you need to like your subject – it is a mistake to write a book about someone you dislike. But you do need to balance that. You mustn’t go overboard and praise him for things that weren’t so."