4V Thomas Babington Macaulay THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND FROM THE ACCESSION OF JAMES II 1849 Decorative Binding Roman Britain Roman Conquest Puritans Middle Ages Aristocracy Population Elections Finance Ireland Religion Tudors Jacobites Indian Trade War Navy Legislation

Title: The History of England from the Accession of James II
Author: Thomas Babington Macaulay - Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, FRS FRSE PC was a British historian and Whig politician. He wrote extensively as an essayist and reviewer; his books on British history have been hailed as literary masterpieces. Macaulay held political office as the Secretary at War between 1839 and 1841, and the Paymaster-General between 1846 and 1848. He played a major role in introducing English and western concepts to education in India, publishing his argument on the subject in the "Macaulay Minute" published in 1835. He supported the replacement of Persian by English as the official language, the use of English as the medium of instruction in all schools, and the training of English-speaking Indians as teachers. This led to Macaulayism in India.
Publisher: Harper & Brothers
City: New York
Year: 1849
Printing Information: First Edition
Binding Style: Hardcover
Number of Volumes: 4 Full Set: No
Width: 6.5" Height: 9.5"
Book Details: This set of four antique volumes is bound in decoratively blindstamped brown cloth with gilt spine lettering. Volume I contains a tissue-guarded frontispiece portrait of the author. This set is a first edtition printing of volumes I-IV (of V).

The History of England from the Accession of James the Second (1848) is the full title of the five-volume work by Lord Macaulay (1800–1859) more generally known as The History of England. It covers the 17-year period from 1685 to 1702, encompassing the reign of James II, the Glorious Revolution, the coregency of William III and Mary II, and up to William III's death.

Macaulay's approach to writing the History was innovative for his period. He consciously fused the picturesque, dramatic style of classical historians such as Thucydides and Tacitus with the learned and factual approach of his 18th century precursors such as Hume, following the plan laid out in his own 1828 "Essay on Historyâ€.
The History is famous for its brilliant ringing prose and for its confident, sometimes dogmatic, emphasis on a progressive model of British history. According to this view, England threw off superstition, autocracy and confusion to create a balanced constitution and a forward-looking culture combined with freedom of belief and expression. This model of human progress has been called the Whig interpretation of history.

Macaulay's approach has been criticized by later historians for its one-sidedness and its complacency. Karl Marx referred to him as a "systematic falsifier of history". His tendency to see history as a drama led him to treat figures whose views he opposed as if they were villains, while his approved characters were presented as heroes. Macaulay goes to considerable length, for example, to absolve his hero King William III of any responsibility for the Glencoe massacre (1692).

Condition / Notes: This antique set shows very well with some typical indications of age and wear, including mild shelfwear and rubbing. Bindings and text blocks are sound. Text is clear and crisp, and the pages exhibit minor foxing.

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