Welsh Journals

1916 as the most significant achievement of his life. In the most fascinating piece of historical writing published for a very long time, he describes Aitken's part in the crisis and the way in which he then constructed his celebrated-or notorious-account in Politicians and the War. Mr. Taylor shows how Beaverbrook's own version was written as a fine political melodrama with Bonar Law as its-somewhat reluctant-hero, and also demonstrates how important was Aitken's own press campaign-and his desire to keep this secret from Lloyd George-in nullifying attempts to reach a final compromise between Asquith and the dissidents. Asquith's fall may have been an 'uncovenanted benefit' but this does not diminish the part played by Beaverbrook. Where this book can be criticised is in its discussion of Lord Beaverbrook's official activities during the Second World War. The official records of the wartime Cabinet and ministries are now available, but Mr. Taylor has provided only the Beaverbrook viewpoint on his relations with Churchill, his work as minister of aircraft production, and the agitation over the Second Front. One can sympathise with the pre- dicament of a biographer faced with a plenitude of personal records, but here surely any discussion of British war strategy should have been placed in a wider context and have employed references to official sources. However, that this version of Beaverbrook's role may stimulate research and debate among historians of the War who will reach somewhat different conclusions does not invalidate Mr. Taylor's achievement. He has given us a vivid and dramatic testament to Beaverbrook's attainments which is indeed a worthy tribute to his friend, Max Aitken. EDWARD DAVID Bristol ENGLISHMEN AND IRISH TROUBLES. British Public Opinion and the Making of Irish Policy, 1918-22. By George Boyce. Jonathan Cape, 1972. Pp. 253. £ 4.50. 'Ireland ruined Lloyd George, as it had ruined Peel and Gladstone before him. But at least he was ruined by success, they by failure.' Thus Mr. A. J. P. Taylor's verdict in English History, 1914-1945 on the role of the 'Irish troubles' in determining Lloyd George's fall from power in 1922. Like others of Mr. Taylor's aphorisms, it seems less convincing on closer examination. The Irish treaty of December 1921 had, in fact, only tan- gential connection with Lloyd George's eventual downfall ten months later; while recent events in Northern Ireland since 1968 make it question- able in the extreme whether the settlement in 1921 could be deemed successful in any meaningful sense. Even so, the impact of Ireland on British domestic politics between 1918 and 1922 was a crucial one. It has now been explored with a new precision and subtlety by Mr. Boyce in this fascinating new study. Others have considered the tragic course of events from the standpoint of internal Irish developments. More originally, Mr. Boyce investigates their impact on British public opinion and their importance in the making of government policy. The result is a monograph that notably advances understanding of this most complex period.