A Wealth of Happiness and Many Bitter Trials: Journal of Sir Alfred Edward Pease, a Restless Man

This book is the life-story of Sir Alfred Edward Pease (1857-1938),a restless and remarkable man. Told largely through his own copious diaries, it chronicles a sequence of incident, achievement, catastrophe and resolution which have some of the elements of a modern Greek tragedy. Alfred was born into a north-east Quaker family of great wealth and influence, among whose many achievements were the financing of the Stockton and Darlington railway, and the construction of the town on Middlesbrough. They provided the first Quaker Member of Parliament, whose son and grandson in due course also took their seats in the House. Acting always with thoughtful altruism, the family came to the peak of its power during Alfred's early manhood. Talented and assured, he became in turn banker, politician, big-game hunter, explorer and colonial administrator, using his inheritance wisely and well. In his maturity,however, he was to confront the loss of that inheritance caused, ironically, by the ill-advised generosity of an earlier marriage settlement. Accepting nevertheless with astonishing resilience this change in his fortunes, Alfred re-built his life and achieved tranquility.