Maynard Keynes

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John Maynard Keynes, the most influential economist of the twentieth century, made significant contributions to public affairs and Britain's cultural life. D.E. Moggridge, drawing on twenty years of editing Keynes's papers, offers a fresh perspective on his life and achievements. He explores Keynes's Victorian roots in Cambridge and his education at Eton and Cambridge before his entry into the wider world. Prior to 1914, Keynes held positions in the India Office and returned to King's College as a don, while also serving on a royal commission and editing the Economic Journal before turning 30. During this time, he forged lifelong connections with the Bloomsbury Group through figures like Lytton Strachey and Duncan Grant. The First World War propelled him into Whitehall, where he managed Britain's external finances and represented the Treasury at the Paris Peace Conference. Disillusioned by the Peace Treaty, he resigned in 1919 to write The Economic Consequences of the Peace, a landmark polemic. No longer just an academic, Keynes became a prominent figure in finance and public affairs, as well as the arts. Moggridge highlights the influence of Lydia Lopokova, his wife, who provided stability and support, enabling Keynes to produce groundbreaking works like A Treatise on Money and The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money. Despite health challenges, Keynes continued to play a vital role in wartime Whitehall. This bio