History and the Enlightenment »

The late Hugh Trevor-Roper (Lord Dacre of Glanton) was Regius Professor of History at the University of Oxford. Among his numerous books is the best-selling The Hermit of Peking: The Hidden Life of Sir Edmund Backhouse.

Arguably the leading British historian of his generation, Hugh Trevor-Roper (1914–2003) is most celebrated and admired as the author of essays. This volume brings together some of the most original and radical writings of his career—many hitherto inaccessible, one never before published, all demonstrating his piercing intellect, urbane wit, and gift for elegant, vivid narrative. This collection focuses on the writing and understanding of history in the eighteenth century and on the great historians and the intellectual context that inspired or provoked their writings. It combines incisive discussion of such figures as Gibbon, Hume, and Carlyle with broad sweeps of analysis and explication. Essays on the Scottish Enlightenment and the Romantic movement are balanced by intimate portraits of lesser-known historians whose significance Trevor-Roper took particular delight in revealing.

The Washington Post - Michael Dirda

History and the Enlightenment doesn't just focus on famous men and books. There are, for instance, enthralling chapters on Conyers Middleton, a founder of deism, and on Dimitrie Cantemir's pioneering "Ottoman History." John Robertson supplies an admirable introduction to Trevor-Roper's academic career as well as an extensive guide to further reading. In every way, this is a wonderfully intelligent and civilized book.

Editor's Introduction John Robertson Robertson, John

1 The Historical Philosophy of the Enlightenment 1

2 The Scottish Enlightenment 17

3 Pietro Giannone and Great Britain 34

4 Dimitrie Cantemir's Ottoman History and its Reception in England 54

5 From Deism to History: Conyers Middleton 71

6 David Hume, Historian 120

7 The Idea of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire 129

8 Gibbon and the Publication of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 1776-1976 144

9 Gibbon's Last Project 161

10 The Romantic Movement and the Study of History 176

11 Lord Macaulay: The History of England 192

12 Thomas Carlyle's Historical Philosophy 223

13 Jacob Burckhardt 246

App A Guide to Later Scholarship 266

Notes 275

Index 305