ABSTRACT
The name of Chamberlain continues to figure prominently in modern British historiography, but it is Austen Chamberlain’s father Joseph and half-brother Neville who dominate the scene. Joseph Chamberlain was patently a very remarkable man and the string of biographies which have appeared in years to supplement the magisterial volumes of J. L. Garvin and Julian Amery bear witness to his continuing ability to fascinate the student of political history. There is then a basic argument that both Joseph and Neville Chamberlain were more interesting men than Austen. In other ways, however, the obsessive historical concentration upon Austen’s father and half-brother is somewhat surprising. In an age when public speaking was an important asset for a leading politician, the contrast between Joseph Chamberlain and his elder son was also marked. Politics, then, were never an all-consuming activity for Austen Chamberlain. Perhaps his father was responsible for this. Joseph once reproached his young son with being too completely absorbed in political work.
