Lord Chatham, His Early Life and Connections

"Lord Chatham, His Early Life and Connections" by Rosebery is an early 20th-century biography that examines the formative years of William Pitt, who would become Lord Chatham, and the influences that propelled him into British politics. The book begins by discussing the difficulties in piecing together Chatham's early life due to a lack of primary sources. It then shifts to the story of his ancestor, Governor Pitt, a trader in the East Indies, and exposes how the Pitt family was characterized by both high aspirations and internal conflict. The author emphasizes this tense family environment and the themes of ambition and discord that profoundly molded Chatham’s trajectory as he rose to prominence in British politics.