The tenth and eleventh volumes of Gladstone's diaries cover 1881 to 1886, the years of Gladstone's highly dramatic second and third administrations. In addition to the daily text of Gladstone's private diaries (maintained almost without a break), the volumes also feature all of his never before published Cabinet Minutes and 1400 of his letters. Altogether, the material provides an invaluable inside look at some of the best known and most controversial events in Gladstone's political career: the Irish Land League, the Phoenix Park murders, Majuba and the "scramble for Africa," and the Home Rule crisis.