Lord Lyndhurst

by Lee, Dennis

John Singleton Copley, Jr., Baron Lyndhurst (1772-1863), was a major figure in nineteenth-century British politics yet one of very few important politicians of his day not to have a modern biography until now. Although historians have relegated Lyndhurst to a minor role, the three-times Lord Chancellor of England remained an influential force until his nineties. A mentor of the young Benjamin Disraeli, Lyndhurst presided over the House of Lords and was also a leading member of the Cabinet. Lord Lyndhurst: The Flexible Tory, is perhaps the first nonpartisan biography of a man who was controversial among his contemporaries, being labeled an opportunist, a careerist, and a turncoat. Although Lyndhurst claimed to have burned his personal papers, author Dennis Lee located them at Cambridge University, at the Glamorgan County Hall in Cardiff, Wales, and among private collections.