The Marquess of Londonderry

Charles Stewart Henry Vane-Tempest-Stewart, the seventh Marquess of Londonderry, has long been a divisive figure in British and Irish history. Was he an anti-Semitic Nazi sympathizer, as some have argued, or did he seek to preserve peace in Europe? Should he be blamed for the breakdown of the World Disarmament Conference, as the Labour party maintained, or did he help to preserve the Royal Air Force that ultimately secured victory in the Battle of Britain? Was he the founding father of integrated education in Northern Ireland, or the friendly face of a sectarian government?

In the paperback edition of The Marquess of Londonderry, N.C. Fleming answers these questions and more. This updated and expanded biography draws extensively from private family papers and state papers, as well as new scholarship, to provide an illuminating and rounded study of an infamous and often misunderstood aristocrat. It contains new details about his household and wealth, his travels across the British Empire, and his ownership of collieries in County Durham. Londonderry’s political beliefs are fully examined, including his attitudes to democracy, capitalism, women’s rights, religion, trade unions, and anti-Semitism. It charts his diplomatic efforts at the League of Nations, and his promotion of Anglo-German understanding in response to the aggressive policies of Adolf Hitler. Fleming places Londonderry’s political career in the context of aristocratic decline and growing calls for social equality. He demonstrates how Londonderry defied contemporary expectations by holding on to high office, and how he continued to have the attention of powerful figures even after his removal from the government.