Telegrams : "Scholarly, London." 41 and 43 Maddox Street, 



Telephone : 1883 Mayfair. Bond Street, London, W. i. 



October, 1919. 



Mr. Edward Arnold's 



AUTUMN 

 ANNOUNCEMENTS, 1919. 



JOHN REDMOND'S LAST YEARS. 



By STEPHEN GWYNN. 

 With Portrait, i vol. Demy 8vo. i6s. net. 



The " History- of John Redmond's Last Years," by Stephen 

 Gwynn, is in the first place an historical document of unusual 

 importance. It is an account of Irish political events at their 

 most exciting period, written by an active member of Mr. 

 Redmond's party who was in the confidence of his chief. The 

 preliminary story of the struggle with the House of Lords and 

 the prolonged fight over Home Rule is described by a keen 

 student of parliamentary action. For the period which began 

 with the war Mr. Gwynn has had access to all Redmond's papers. 

 He writes of Redmond's effort to lead Ireland into the war from 

 the standpoint of a soldier as well as a member of parliament. 

 The last chapter gives to the world, for the first time, a full 

 account of the Irish Convention which sat for eight months 

 behind closed doors, and in which Redmond's career reached its 

 dramatic catastrophe. 



The interlocking of varying chains of circumstance, the parlia- 

 mentary struggle, the rise of the rival volunteer forces, the raising 

 of Irish divisions, the rebellion and its sequel, and, finally, the 

 effect of bringing Irishmen together into conference all this is 

 vividly pictured, with increasing detail as the book proceeds. In 

 the opening, two short chapters recall the earlier history of the 

 Irish party and Redmond's part in it. 



But the main interest centres in the character of Redmond 

 himself. Mr. Gwynn does not work to display his leader as a 

 hero without faults and incapable of mistakes. He shows the 

 man as he knew him and worked under him, traces his career 

 through its triumphs to reverses, and through gallant recovery to 

 final defeat. A great man is made familiar to the reader, in his 



