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 11
... later claimed , by a desire to gratify the wishes of indulgent parents . In the process , however , he managed to persuade himself that his future wife had desirable qualities beyond a handsome dowry . Despite his subsequent gripes ...
... later claimed , by a desire to gratify the wishes of indulgent parents . In the process , however , he managed to persuade himself that his future wife had desirable qualities beyond a handsome dowry . Despite his subsequent gripes ...
Seite 125
... later , she could still name ' the dinner , wines , and dessert ' . There would be other trysts in houses of assignation on the fringe of the metropolis before Wilkes's obligation to rendezvous with the Bucks militia at Winchester ...
... later , she could still name ' the dinner , wines , and dessert ' . There would be other trysts in houses of assignation on the fringe of the metropolis before Wilkes's obligation to rendezvous with the Bucks militia at Winchester ...
Seite 180
... later , Wilkes reported , the two friends amused themselves in the company of ' two , lively , young , handsome actresses ' at the home of Wilkes's landlord . Wilkes also found congenial company of a different kind at the salon of Baron ...
... later , Wilkes reported , the two friends amused themselves in the company of ' two , lively , young , handsome actresses ' at the home of Wilkes's landlord . Wilkes also found congenial company of a different kind at the salon of Baron ...
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