British academic and diplomat Reginald Fleming Johnston (1874–1938) published Twilight in the Forbidden City in 1934. The work is a memoir of Johnston's time in Beijing between 1919 and 1924, at the court of the Qing Dynasty, where he served as tutor to Aisin-Gioro Puyi (1906–1967), last emperor of China. Johnston was one of only two foreigners who were permitted to enter the imperial palace, and so his account provides a unique Western perspective on the epochal events of the period. The work has a preface by the emperor Puyi and includes detailed descriptions of palace rituals, including Puyi's wedding ceremony; translations of key documents; Johnston's perspective on the revolution of 1911 and the 1917 restoration; his observations on Chinese society as a whole; and eye-witness accounts of the political intrigues of the palace. The memoir was dramatised in Bernardo Bertolucci's cinematic masterpiece, The Last Emperor.
The product of a lifetime spent in India and the Middle East, for over a century this two-volume work by Sir John Malcolm (1769-1833), first published in 1815, remained the most trusted chronicle of Persia. Translated into French, German and Persian, the detailed and diverse contents earned its diplomat author an honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Oxford. Although learned, Malcolm's narrative is informed by personal experiences acquired while serving as an envoy and secretary to the governor general, a position which clearly shaped his views on the country's political character. Volume 2 begins with an account of the rulers of the early eighteenth century and goes on to provide a detailed history of modern Persia, incorporating descriptions of its religions, government, climate and social conventions. Malcolm's concluding remarks are both critical and portentous as he observes the needs for a 'complete alteration' in the political condition of Persia.
William Walton (?1783–1857) was British agent at Santo Domingo (Haiti), over which the British had briefly fought with the French before it proclaimed its independence in 1804. Returning to England in 1809, he began to write on Spanish and South American affairs. The Present State of the Spanish Colonies was published in two volumes in 1810. Volume 1 deals with the island colony of Hispaniola (now divided between the Dominican Republic and Haiti). Walton discusses the history and geography of the island, and particularly the natural resources and wildlife. Volume 2 examines the history and resources of the Spanish settlements in South America, describing the Indian, Spanish and Creole inhabitants and their culture, and the relationship of the colonies with Spain. There is much of interest in his study of the origins and culture of the native tribes, and the impact on them of colonization and religious conversion.
Joseph Marryat (1757–1824) was an M.P., chairman of Lloyd's and colonial agent for Grenada. This volume contains three of his pamphlets - Thoughts on the Abolition of the Slave Trade (1816), More Thoughts (1816) and More Thoughts Still (1818) which replied to his critics. The first pamphlet was very controversial, running to four editions in the year of publication. It vigorously attacks the policies and influence of the African Institution, whose arguments regarding the operation of slavery since the Abolition Act of 1807 he proves, by using evidence from official British and colonial government reports, to contain many falsehoods. Marryat believed that, with regard to emancipation, lessons must be learned from the French Revolution: ideals, if taken too quickly to extremes, cause national and even international conflict. His critics accused him of equal economy with the truth by selective use of source material: his responses were also best-sellers.
James Anthony Froude (1818–94), historian and disciple of Carlyle, published this twelve-volume history of the English Reformation between 1858 and 1870. The work is shaped by Froude's firm belief that the Reformation enabled the development of modernity and the rise of 'progressive intelligence' in England. His polemical stance was criticised by some historians, but his engaging narrative style and elegant prose made his work extremely popular with the general public, and the books were highly influential. The first six volumes consider the course of the Reformation from the break with Rome until the accession of Elizabeth I in 1558, and the remaining six recount the reign of Elizabeth I, ending with the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Volume 1 recounts the last years of Wolsey's influence, the changing relationship between Church and State, and the marriage of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.
First published between 1844 and 1846, this seven-volume collection of the letters of Lord Nelson (1758–1805) was assembled and edited by antiquarian, historian and former naval lieutenant Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas (1799–1848), using letters supplied to him by many of Nelson's correspondents. Nicolas was better known for his many works on genealogy and heraldry, but his own naval background drew him to this work. In Volume 1 he asserts that 'the life of a man is best described by himself' and Nelson is subsequently revealed to be a skilled and engaging correspondent. The books document Nelson's long and celebrated career in the Royal Navy, from his appointment as a lieutenant in 1777 to his death at Trafalgar in 1805. After 150 years Nicolas' edition is still considered to have been unsurpassed as a source for Nelson's life and career.
Published in six volumes between 1839 and 1848, this was the first collected edition of the surviving corpus of Anglo-Saxon charters, comprising royal diplomas in Latin, and a variety of documents (wills, writs, etc.) in the vernacular (Old English). John Mitchell Kemble (1807–57) collected his material from many different places (the British Museum, the Tower of London, cathedral archives, college libraries, and various private collections), and arranged it as best he could in chronological order. He believed passionately that he was laying foundations for a new history of the English people, and built on this research in The Saxons in England (1849), also reissued in this series. Volume 1 of the Codex (1839) contains texts from the seventh, eighth and early ninth centuries. It includes Kemble's pioneering account of the principles for assessing the authenticity of Anglo-Saxon charters, and a new preface by Simon Keynes introducing this landmark work.
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) was the third United States President (1801–9) and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. An advocate of republicanism, he envisioned America as an 'Empire of Liberty' that would strive to promote freedom around the world. First published in 1853–4, this nine-volume edition of Jefferson's writings shows the breadth of his intellectual and political interests. His autobiography, letters, diaries and political memoranda reflect a life lived at the centre of pivotal events, including the French and American Revolutions, and the founding of a new nation. Through them we discover his contribution to the pursuit of world peace, the evolving relationships between the United States and the European powers, and the development of the American constitution and judicial system.
Published in six volumes between 1839 and 1848, this was the first collected edition of the surviving corpus of Anglo-Saxon charters, comprising royal diplomas in Latin, as well as a variety of documents (wills, writs, etc.) in the vernacular (Old English). John Mitchell Kemble (1807–57) collected his material from many different places (the British Museum, the official records then in the Tower of London, cathedral archives, college libraries, and various private collections), and arranged it as best he could in chronological order. He believed passionately that he was laying foundations for a new history of the English people, and his work formed the basis for his study The Saxons in England (1849), also reissued in this series. Volume 3 of the Codex (1845) contains texts from the mid-tenth to the early eleventh century, and includes Kemble's pioneering discussion of vernacular boundary-clauses.
Published in six volumes between 1839 and 1848, this was the first collected edition of the surviving corpus of Anglo-Saxon charters, comprising royal diplomas in Latin, as well as a variety of documents (wills, writs, etc.) in the vernacular (Old English). John Mitchell Kemble (1807–57) collected his material from many different places (the British Museum, the official records then in the Tower of London, cathedral archives, college libraries, and various private collections), and arranged it as best he could in chronological order. He believed passionately that he was laying foundations for a new history of the English people, and his work formed the basis for his study The Saxons in England (1849), also reissued in this series. Volume 4 of the Codex (1846) contains texts from the early eleventh century to the Norman Conquest, including some derived from the then newly discovered Codex Wintoniensis.
Published in six volumes between 1839 and 1848, this was the first collected edition of the surviving corpus of Anglo-Saxon charters, comprising royal diplomas in Latin, as well as a variety of documents (wills, writs, etc.) in the vernacular (Old English). John Mitchell Kemble (1807–57) collected his material from many different places (the British Museum, the official records then in the Tower of London, cathedral archives, college libraries, and various private collections), and arranged it as best he could in chronological order. He believed passionately that he was laying foundations for a new history of the English people, and his work formed the basis for his study The Saxons in England (1849), also reissued in this series. Volume 5 of the Codex (1847) complements Volumes 1 and 2 with additional texts from the early seventh to the mid-tenth century, including many from the Codex Wintoniensis.
Published in six volumes between 1839 and 1848, this was the first collected edition of the surviving corpus of Anglo-Saxon charters, comprising royal diplomas in Latin and a variety of documents (wills, writs, etc.) in the vernacular (Old English). John Mitchell Kemble (1807–57) collected his material from many different places (the British Museum, the official records then in the Tower of London, cathedral archives, college libraries, and various private collections), and arranged it as best he could in chronological order. He believed passionately that he was laying foundations for a new history of the English people, and his work formed the basis for his study The Saxons in England (1849). Volume 6 of the Codex (1848) complements Volumes 3 and 4 with additional texts from the mid-tenth century to the Norman Conquest. It also contains a listing of the manuscripts used by Kemble, and a substantial index of places.
Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800–59) was one of the foremost nineteenth-century historians in the Whig tradition, which saw history as a series of developments towards enlightenment and democracy. He believed that the 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688 had preserved England from the constitutional upheavals suffered by much of Europe in 1848. Using a wider range of sources, including popular literature, than was then usual, and written in an accessible, novelistic rather than academic style, this five-volume work proved hugely influential upon contemporary historians and phenomenally successful with the public, although it was not without its critics. Volume 4, published in 1855, covers the period from 1691 to 1697. It deals with war in Europe and continuing trouble in Ireland, where most of the Irish army chose to transfer allegiance to France. It continues with English political affairs, the Bill of Rights and the death of Mary in 1694.
John Brand (1744–1806), secretary of the Society of Antiquaries, first published his widely popular Observations on Popular Antiquities in 1777. This fascinating two-volume almanac of British superstitions and customs was in fact a heavily revised and annotated version of Henry Bourne's Antiquitates vulgares (1725). Beginning with New Year's Eve, Volume 1 describes the origins and practices of British calendar festivals including religious holidays, saints' days, seasonal celebrations such as May Day and the Summer Solstice, and obscurer festivities such as the Feast of Sheep Shearing. Following the success of the book's initial reception, Brand continued to research English folklore with the intention of publishing fuller information. This two-volume version, published posthumously in 1813, was edited and expanded by Sir Henry Ellis, Keeper of Manuscripts at the British Museum, and further revisions also appeared in 1841 and 1870. Brand's book is regarded as the foundation for folklor
Since early times, agriculture has been pivotal to England's economy. This seven-volume, eight-piece set compiled by the economist James E. Thorold Rogers (1823 90), represents the most complete recor
Moncure Daniel Conway (1832–1907), the son of a Virginian plantation-owner, became a Unitarian minister, but his anti-slavery views made him controversial. He later became a freethinker, and following the outbreak of the Civil War, which deeply divided his own family, he left the United States for England in 1863. This two-volume biography of Thomas Paine (1737–1809) was published in 1892, and was followed by a four-volume edition of his works, which did much to inspire a reassessment of Paine's importance in the 'age of revolutions'. Conway clearly identified with Paine's radicalism as well as his activities on both sides of the Atlantic. Paine's political pamphlets underlay the American Declaration of Independence, and he was also a member of the French Convention, voting against the execution of Louis XVI. Outlawed in England and imprisoned in France, his religious views became unpopular in America, and he died in poverty.
Soldier and military historian L. W. Shakespear (1860–1933), published this book on the north-eastern frontier of India and its tribes in 1914. He had served in the Assam Military Police Force, and this book, which is illustrated with photographs taken by the author, is 'an attempt to produce something useful and readable at least for those who care about that little known but very interesting corner of India'. The work begins with a review of the archaeology and history of the area, and is particularly concerned with the ethnography of the various border tribes, such as the Kachari, Ahom and Naga. The small beginnings, in 1823, of the tea industry, which still forms an important part of the region's economy, are described, and the work ends with a consideration of the strategic importance of the area, in the context of a widely expected 'awakening' and modernisation of China.
Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton (1786–1845) was a committed social reformer throughout his life and became involved with the abolition of slavery during his time as an MP, taking over the leadership of the abolition movement in the British House of Commons after William Wilberforce retired in 1825. Following the abolition of slavery in Britain and its colonies in 1833, and his loss of his Parliamentary seat in 1837, Buxton concerned himself with the slave trade along the African coast still perpetrated by Africans, Arabs and the Portuguese. The results of his research and conclusions were originally published in 1839, and demonstrate the extent to which slave trading still existed, and its human cost in mortality and misery, despite attempts at policing by the British navy. Buxton explores the theory that the key to complete abolition is a change in market economics to eliminate the need for African slave labour.
Published between 1828 and 1840, Napier's History of the War in the Peninsula was a tremendously influential, if controversial, work. Napier had been actively involved in the campaigns, turning to history in peacetime, in part to refute Southey's account of Sir John Moore. He had access to the papers of many of the participants, including French state and military letters. Although denied the use of Wellington's papers, he spent several months at Stratfield Saye, interviewing the Duke, and he also met French generals in Paris. The first volume had a mixed reception, getting both high praise and bitter criticism from participants in the wars. He published several works rebutting his critics while producing the later volumes. Because of his obvious lack of impartiality, modern military historians treat the work with caution, but it remains widely read in the many editions and abridgements which were subsequently produced.