The History of England from the Accession of James I to that of the Brunswick Line: Volume 3

A landmark in female historiography, this eight-volume work (1763–83) traces and champions English political liberty during the seventeenth century.

Catharine Macaulay (Author)

9781108067584, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 19 September 2013

478 pages, 1 b/w illus.
25.4 x 17.8 x 2.4 cm, 0.82 kg

A landmark in female historiography, this work first appeared in eight volumes between 1763 and 1783. Notable for her radical politics and her influence on American revolutionary ideology, Catharine Macaulay (1731–91) drew diligently on untapped seventeenth-century sources to craft her skilful yet inevitably biased narrative. Seen as a Whig response to David Hume's Tory perspective on English history, the early volumes made Macaulay a literary sensation in the 1760s. Later instalments were less rapturously received by those critics who took exception to her republican views. Both the product and a portrait of tumultuous ages, the work maintains throughout a strong focus on the fortunes of political liberty. Volume 3 (1767) covers the outbreak of the English Civil War, closing with Prince Rupert's taking of Bristol in the summer of 1643.

Part II. Charles I (cont.): 1. Court of Star-chamber, and other arbitrary courts, abolished
2. The leaders of the popular party attempt to wrest from the king the power over the militia
3. The king enters new projects to subdue opposition
4. An ordinance to settle the militia by authority of parliament passes both houses
5. State of each party on the commencement of war.

Subject Areas: British & Irish history [HBJD1]