{"product_id":"robert-harley-the-tory-minister-who-ended-marlboroughs-war-9798195782153","title":"Robert Harley: The Tory Minister Who Ended Marlborough's War","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Gordon J. MacKenzie\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Historical\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe minister who broke Marlborough's war machine.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRobert Harley was not a battlefield commander, a monarch, or a dazzling public hero. He was something quieter and often more dangerous: a political operator who understood Parliament, court access, information, timing, party management, and the hidden movement of power.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBorn into the world of the country gentry, Harley rose through the House of Commons by mastering procedure, influence, and the art of managing men. Under Queen Anne, he became one of the central figures in the great reversal of her reign.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor years, Anne's government had been dominated by the war against France, the victories of the Duke of Marlborough, the financial management of Lord Godolphin, the influence of Sarah Churchill, and the growing power of the Whigs. But war was expensive. The Church was restless. The queen was tired of being pressed by servants who had become too powerful. The country wanted relief.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHarley saw the opening.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThrough parliamentary management, Tory revival, Church feeling, print politics, and the quiet access of Abigail Masham, he helped turn Anne away from the Marlborough-Godolphin order. He helped make peace with France possible. He helped bring Britain to the Treaty of Utrecht.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut peace came at a price.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMarlborough's dismissal enraged the Whigs. The Treaty of Utrecht divided Britain and angered allies. Harley's secrecy bred suspicion. His rivalry with Bolingbroke shattered the Tory ministry. Queen Anne's death brought the Hanoverian succession, Whig revenge, impeachment, imprisonment, and ruin.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRobert Harley: The Tory Minister Who Ended Marlborough's War\u003c\/b\u003e tells the story of one of Queen Anne's most important and controversial ministers: a man who ended a great war, broke a powerful political order, and survived the collapse of the world that had made him powerful.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe was not the loudest man of his age.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe was the operator in the shadows.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Independently Published","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47969460912279,"sku":"9798195782153","price":1441.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9798195782153.webp?v=1782921939","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/robert-harley-the-tory-minister-who-ended-marlboroughs-war-9798195782153","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}