292 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : 25 cm

For a small island nation, Britain has on the international stage for over half a millennium. This book takes us through a dozen vivid chapters in Britain's history over the past 500 years, telling the story of diplomatic missions ranging from many locations across the continent and beyond

Includes bibliographical references and index

All secrecy and circumspection: Killigrew in Edinburgh -- A just equilibrium: Castlereagh at the Congress of Vienna -- Keeping up with the Joneses: our man in Washington and the Nassau deal -- Heaven is high, the emperor distant: Macartney's mission to China -- The hour of the gunboat: Bowring in China -- Hong Kong: a tale of two systems -- The Grand Turk and the Russian Bear: Disraeli, Gladstone and the eastern question -- Hobbes rules, OK: Vansittart and the fall of the new diplomacy -- The return of history: Bosnia and the hour of Europe

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