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Full Description
Described by his biographer as the author of 'monumental and supreme' histories, Edward Gibbon (1737-94) is widely acknowledged as a major figure of the Enlightenment and the father of modern historical scholarship. However, despite these epithets, the personal life of one of the eighteenth century's most successful authors remains unknown to many of his readers. Published in the first series of English Men of Letters in 1878 (and going into a second edition in the same year), this biography by James Cotter Morison (1832-88) provides a learned but accessible account of the man who wrote The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Starting with a childhood plagued by ill health and infirmity, and covering Gibbon's time in the militia and travelling on the Grand Tour, Morison leads readers through a life which was apparently unremarkable, but in fact resulted in a work of enduring scholarly achievement.
Contents
1. Gibbon's early life up to the time of his leaving Oxford; 2. At Lausanne; 3. In the militia; 4. The Italian journey; 5. Literary schemes. The history of Switzerland. Dissertation on the sixth Aeneid. Father's death. Settlement in London; 6. Life in London. Parliament. The Board of Trade. The Decline and Fall. Migration to Lausanne; 7. The first three volumes of The Decline and Fall; 8. The last ten years of his life at Lausanne; 9. The last three volumes of The Decline and Fall; 10. Last illness. Death. Conclusion.
