Description: Edward Stanley, MP and future 14th earl of Derby, wrote this diary as a young man in 1824-25 during a tour of North America. It reveals insights and experiences that went on to shape his political destiny and legacy as prime minister.
Brief description: Edward Geoffrey Smith Stanley (1799-1869), later Lord Stanley and the 14th earl of Derby, was the first British statesman to become prime minister three times and remains the longest serving party leader in modern British politics. A complex, astute and influential figure, he dominated the political scene during the mid-nineteenth century.