Foreword by Martin Gilbert CBE and Preface by Zara Steiner. ìThe account of the parts played by the Foreign Office and Austen Chamberlain in the processes that led to the Locarno Pacts is probably the best now availableÖ Maisel offers an excellent account of the foreign policy achievements of Ramsay MacDonald and the first Labour government. This volume is a first-rate tribute to the memory and accomplishments of Dr Maisel; the fact that it has been published is a tribute to all that is best in British academic life.î English Historical Review. The Foreign Office and Foreign Policy, 1919ñ1926 tells of the administrative changes of the post-war period and of the senior permanent officials, their personalities and cast of mind, who advised the foreign secretary and carried out his policies. The book goes beyond existing accounts of changes taking place after the Great War, and provides examples of the FO machine in action as seen from King Charles Street, and the uneasy relationship between 10 Downing Street and the Foreign Office.