Book Description
Charles James Fox, the standard bearer of the reform Whig opposition in the late eighteenth century, was among the most colorful politicians of his era and perhaps its most arresting orator. Despite a career marked by shifting alliances and misadventures, Fox had a great impact on the development of nineteenth-century British political thinking, and such major prime ministers as Melbourne, Grey, and Russell looked, in part, to Fox's principles on liberty to guide their own actions. Today Fox is best remembered for his advocacy of the Libel Bill, a milestone in the history of English law; for his support of Catholic emancipation and the abolition of slavery, measures that became law after his death; and for his dedication to the rights of the common man. This volume is the first comprehensive bibliography of Fox, the "man of the people," and it provides an annotated guide to the manuscript and archival sources as well as his own writings and the extensive literature on his life and career. The volume begins with an analysis of Fox's life and impact and is followed by a chronology of major events in his career. The volume concludes with author and subject indexes. The bibliography is an essential reference tool for scholars and researchers investigating late eighteenth and early nineteenth British political and social history. ... Read more

Book Description
Charles James Fox was one of the most colourful figures in eighteenth-century politics.Notorious for the excesses of his private life, he was at the same time one of the leading politicians of his generation, dominating the Whig party and polite society.As the political rival of Pitt the Younger and the intellectual rival of Edmund Burke, his views on the major issues of the day - the American War of Independence, the French Revolution, parliamentary reform - formed the character of Whiggery in his own time and for years to come.Fox's historical reputation has been hotly disputed.Some have hailed him as one of the founding fathers of Radicalism, others have dismissed him as an irritating and irresponsible impediment to the statesmanship of Pitt.L. G. Mitchell's scholarly biography shows that in many ways Fox was a politician through circumstance, not inclination.Dr Mitchell analyses the ties of kinship and friendship which to an astonishing degree dictated Fox's politics, and offers striking new assessments of Whiggery and its most potent personality.This penetrating and readable study reveals the man and his mind, and sets Fox firmly within the political and social context of the late eighteenth century. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

First-class treatment of the subject
After finishing this book, it is hard to imagine there can be anything left to say about Charles James Fox. The familiar picture emerges of a politician who didn't have the skills or temperament of Pitt the Youngerand hence was in opposition for most of his career. Yet Mitchell also makestwo very interesting observations. First, Fox often preferred his privatesocial life to politics. Did he, in fact, spend more time at the race trackand at his London club than at the House of Commons? Secondly, Fox was lessof a radical than most of his contemporaries thought. He was not, forinstance, especially keen on far-reaching parliamentary reform. A bigthumbs-up for this biography, not least for quoting verbatim from thestrong language of certain original sources! ... Read more

Book Description
Charles James Fox, our first great statesman of the modern school, was closely connected with scenes which lie far back in English history. His grandfather, if not the most well-graced, was at any rate one of the best paid, actors on the stage of the 17th century. Found in this work is the biographical account of Charles James Fox from 1749 through 1774. ... Read more

Book Description