Modern Europe 507 THE RESTLESS : THE AND THE BRIT· ISH , 1921-31. By D. W. Harkness. (Lon­ don: Macmillan. 1969. Pp. xvi, 312. 8ss.) WHEN southern Ireland accepted Dominion status in 1922, its position within the British Commonwealth was wholly exceptional. If it was the youngest Dominion, it was also, as Desmond FitzGerald noted, "an ancient kingdom with a great past." Its geographical closeness to Britain and to Europe set it apart from other Domin­ ions, as did the fact that there was a "Greater Ireland" scattered throughout the world, notably in the United States. Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article/75/2/507/61084 by guest on 29 September 2021 Few in 1922 could have foreseen the leading role that the Irish Free State would play during the next decade in reshaping internal Commonwealth relations. This role is explored clearly, fully, and authoritatively in this valuable study by Dr. Harkness. His theme, which centers upon the Imperial Conferences of 1923, 1926, and 1930, is that of "persistent Irish negotiation directed skillfully towards a desired end: the transformation of an Empire dominated by the Westminster Parliament into a Commonwealth of free and equal partner nations," as defined in the Statute of Westminster of 1931. Harkness, who teaches at the University of Kent, demonstrates conclusively that such Irish statesmen as FitzGerald, Kevin O'Higgins, and Patrick McGilligan contributed more to bringing about this transformation than better-known figures like Mackenzie King of or Herzog of . The author, incidentally, refutes the contention of Gordon Walker, former Labor Foreign Secretary, that Canada rather than Ireland took the lead in changing Empire into Commonwealth. Harkness rightly pays tribute to the strength and moderation of William T. Cosgrave, the self-effacing president of the executive council of the Irish Free State. The value of the Irish contribution to the Commonwealth did not cease, however, with Cosgrave's fall in 1932. As Professor K. C. Wheare, a leading English consti­ tutional authority, emphasized, the principles advocated by the Irish representatives, "though rejected by other Members of the Commonwealth at the time, came to have a strong influence on the development of the structure of the Commonwealth, partic­ ularly after 1945." Besides making an exhaustive study of parliamentary and League of Nations papers, as well as of a wide range of secondary material covering the , the author has based his narrative on manuscript materials hitherto largely unused-the FitzGerald and McGilligan Papers have been especially valuable-as well as on per­ sonal interviews with public figures surviving from the 1920'S. It is good to see R. M. Smyllie's perceptive comments in reprinted. Harkness emphasizes the importance of personalities in politics, and his handling of complex constitutional issues is a model of lucidity.

University of Washington GIOVANNI COSTIGAN

QUEEN OF NAVARRE: JEANNE D'ALBRET, 1528-1572. By Nancy Lyman Roelleer, (Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. 1968. Pp. xii, 503. $10.00.) ONE can hardly imagine the French Reformation taking the course it did without the influence and, often, the leadership of women. Notable among the noble ladies who promoted Calvinism in France was Jeanne d'Albret (1528-1572), the niece of