In this episode, Dr Keith Hamilton discusses the vibrant social and administrative history of the nineteenth-century Foreign Office at Whitehall with the CWD's Prof Gaynor Johnson. Dr Hamilton, formerly a historian of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, has evaluated the records and accounts of domestic staff rather than just the higher levels of government agents to create a more comprehensive picture of diplomatic history. This archival work has also served as the foundation for Dr Hamilton's latest book, Servants of Diplomacy. A Domestic History of the Victorian Foreign Office (Bloomsbury, 2021), which is an invaluable complement to his wider work on the history of British diplomacy.
To find out more about Servants of Diplomacy, or to order a copy, please visit the publisher's website: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/servants-of-diplomacy-9781350159150/
The CWD advises with sadness that Dr Keith Hamilton passed away in October 2023. You can find his obituary here: https://issuu.com/fcohistorians/docs/keith_hamilton_obituary
We offer our condolences to Dr Hamilton's family, friends and colleagues.