While preparing this book I have received assistance and advice from many people. Marshall Moriarty and Professor Fred Leventhal were the first to read portions of my manuscript when they kindly agreed to make sense of the Introduction which badly needed their thorough, insightful editing. Once they had completed their handiwork, I sent the chapter to Clyve Jones, who over the years had published my articles in Parliamentary History and my books in the journal’s Texts and Studies series. In this case, he had urged me to send him the early version of the Introduction which he in turn forwarded to a reviewer who provided well-chosen critiques and recommendations that I later incorporated. I am forever grateful to Clyve for his support and encouragement over the years and miss him, both as a fellow historian of the eighteenth century and a friend. Since 1968 when I embarked on my PhD dissertation on the House of Lords, John Sainty has provided answers and guidance whenever I approached him with questions.