Perhaps the most eminent of eminent Victorians, a master alike of parliamentary debate and public oratory and regarded as the greatest Christian statesman of his day, William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898) governed Britain at a time when the country stood at the apex of world affairs. In this book historian David Bebbington presents a superb, balanced portrait of Gladstone-his character, his convictions, his actions, and his legacy.