Few statesmen have led such colourful and controversial lives as George Nathaniel Curzon. Brilliant, tempestuous and - in the words of the notorious rhyme - superior, his career was an almost unparalleled blend of triumph and disappointment. Queen Victoria's last Viceroy of India, his term of office ended in dramatic resignation. And despite his later successes as Foreign Secretary, George V thwarted his ambition to become Prime Minister. David Gilmour presents a portrait of this complex figure, whose personal life was marked by equivalent vicissitudes of fortune.