Twenty-Five Years by Viscount Grey of Fallodon (Sir Edward Grey) is a significant memoir of British diplomacy and statesmanship, chronicling his tenure as Foreign Secretary from 1905 to 1916—a pivotal period that included the lead-up to and early years of World War I. Published in 1925, the memoir offers an insider’s perspective on European power dynamics, alliance systems, and the failures of diplomacy that culminated in the Great War. Grey, a central figure in pre-war negotiations, reflects with sober clarity on events like the Agadir Crisis, the Balkan Wars, and the infamous July Crisis of 1914, when his efforts to avert war through mediation collapsed.
The book is notable for its measured tone and lack of sensationalism, as Grey avoids personal vindication in favor of historical accountability. His famous lament, “The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime,” captures the memoir’s elegiac undercurrent. More than a personal account, Twenty-Five Years is a key primary source for understanding the mindset of pre-war British leadership and the tragic inevitability of conflict.
A must-read for historians of early 20th-century Europe, it balances personal reflection with geopolitical analysis, revealing the burdens of power in an era of unprecedented catastrophe.
