A political hero finally gets his due in M. W. Daly's intriguing new book, The Last of the Great Proconsuls.
During his time as a British administrator and diplomat, beginning as a member of the Sudan Political Service and ending as the Personal Representative of the Foreign Secretary in the Gulf, Sir William Luce played a decisive role in many of his era's most impactful events.
Daly's biography finally sheds light on this often-overlooked figure who was instrumental in the post-World War II dissolution of the British Empire, including the eventual creation of the United Arab Emirates in 1971.
With newly discovered details, The Last of the Great Proconsuls reveals the personal and professional life of a man who changed history. With unprecedented access to the Luce family papers, Daly provides a multifaceted glimpse into Luce's life with his playwright wife, Margaret Napier, as well as details of his dealings with leaders and statesmen of the era, including the last Shah of Iran and the rulers of the Gulf states.
This biography is truly a must-read for those interested in the history of Sudan, Egypt, Arabia, the Gulf states, and the last phase of Britain's empire in the Middle East.
About the Author: M. W. Daly, PhD (London, SOAS), is the author of a two-volume history of the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium in the Sudan (Cambridge University Press 1986, 1991), a history of Darfur (Cambridge U. P. 2007), and, with P. M. Holt, A History of the Sudan, now in its sixth edition. He is general editor of The Cambridge History of Egypt. A biography of F. R. Wingate, The Sirdar, won the John Frederick Lewis Award of the American Philosophical Society in 1998.
