John Wilkes: The Lives of a LibertineAshgate, 2006 - 282 Seiten John Wilkes remains one of the most colourful and intriguing characters of eighteenth-century Britain. Born in 1725, the son of a prosperous London distiller, he was given the classical education of a gentleman, before entering politics as a Whig. Finding his party in opposition following the accession of George III in 1760 he took up his pen with sensational effect, and made a career out of excoriating the new administration and promoting the Whig interest. His charismatic style and vicious wit soon ensured that he became a figurehead for the radical cause, earning him many admirers and many enemies. Amongst the latter were the king, and the artist William Hogarth who famously depicted Wilkes as a grinning, squint-eyed, pug-nosed agent of misrule. Whilst Wilkes's political career has been much explored, particularly the period between 1763 and 1774, much less has been written about his remarkable private life. This biography provides a more comprehensive examination of Wilkes throughout his long life than has hitherto been available. Taking a thematic, rather than chronological approach it is divided into six main chapters covering family, ambition, sex, religion, class and money, which allows a much more rounded picture of Wilkes to emerge. In so doing it provides a fascinating insight, not only into one of the most intriguing characters of the Georgian period, but also into wider eighteenth-century British society and its shifting attitudes to morality, politics and gender. |
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Seite 85
... friendship'.13 The principal evidence for d'Holbach's feelings is a letter that he wrote to Wilkes shortly after the latter's return to England in the summer of 1746. The letter , in fractured English , expresses grief at their ...
... friendship'.13 The principal evidence for d'Holbach's feelings is a letter that he wrote to Wilkes shortly after the latter's return to England in the summer of 1746. The letter , in fractured English , expresses grief at their ...
Seite 176
... friendship was equated with betrayal of country ' . Yet friendship could also mean something more pragmatic and less stable : a mere acquaintanceship or a political alliance , devoid of emotional content . When Lord Rockingham , who ...
... friendship was equated with betrayal of country ' . Yet friendship could also mean something more pragmatic and less stable : a mere acquaintanceship or a political alliance , devoid of emotional content . When Lord Rockingham , who ...
Seite 177
... friendships were deemed inviolable and often survived political division ( as , for example , in the case of Lord Mansfield's friendship with Lord Rockingham ) , but their privileges and comforts were fully extended only to those who ...
... friendships were deemed inviolable and often survived political division ( as , for example , in the case of Lord Mansfield's friendship with Lord Rockingham ) , but their privileges and comforts were fully extended only to those who ...
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