In Popular Culture
A Gladstone bag, a light travelling bag, is called after him.
In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novels, "Gladstone" is the name of Dr. John Watson's English bulldog.
In fiction, Gladstone features prominently in the history of the fantasy Bartimaeus trilogy, in which the British government is run by magicians. Gladstone is said to have been the most powerful magician to ever become Prime Minister, and though he is not included as a character, several objects of his are central plot points. The book provides an alternate history of Gladstone, in which he killed Disraeli in a duel and assisted British forces in colonial expansion.
Read more about this topic: William Ewart Gladstone
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