author
Viscount Edward Grey Grey of Fallodon
1862–1933
A central figure in British politics before and during the First World War, he shaped foreign policy at a moment when Europe was moving toward crisis. He was also known for a quieter side of life, writing about nature and the countryside with real feeling.
1 Audiobook
Recreation by Viscount Grey of Fallodon, K.G.
by Viscount Edward Grey Grey of Fallodon
About the author
Born in London on April 25, 1862, and educated at Winchester and Balliol College, Oxford, Edward Grey entered Parliament as a Liberal in 1885. He later became Foreign Secretary in 1905 and held the post until 1916, giving him one of the longest continuous runs in that office. His name is closely tied to the tense years leading up to the First World War and to Britain's diplomatic response as war began.
Grey's public career made him a major statesman of his age, but he was not only a political figure. He was a keen naturalist and is still remembered by many readers for The Charm of Birds, a book that reflects his love of watching the natural world. That mix of high politics and deep personal interest in nature gives his life an unusual texture.
He died at Fallodon, Northumberland, on September 7, 1933. Today he is remembered both as an influential architect of British foreign policy and as a thoughtful writer whose love of the countryside offered a very different view of the man behind the statesman.