A New and Complete History of England, From the First Settlement of Brutus, Upwards of One Thousand Years Before Julis Caesar, to the Year 1798.
London: Printed and Sold by W. and J. Stratford, [1798]. Black-and-white frontis, 78 engraved plates, two fold-out maps. Second edition. Rebound in three-quarter brown calf-backed marbled linen boards, maroon calf title labels. Folio. [4, Subscribers], iii-iv, [5], 6-946, 1-64 (Continuation, From the Year 1794 to the Close of the Session of Parliament in 1798), [10, Index]. 15.5" x 10.25" Internally clean and bright, void of foxing and internal flaws, plates clean, bright, and undamaged save for tears along lower inner edges of maps, small spot of toning to one plate, and small chip (un-effecting image) to another, overall a fine copy in fine modern rebind. Item #227432
“Brutus! there lies beyond the Gallic bounds
An island which the western sea surrounds;
By giants once possess'd: now few remain
To bar thy entrance, or obstruct thy reign.
To reach that happy shore thy fails employ:
There fate decrees to raise a second Troy,
And found an empire in thy royal line,
Which time shall ne'er destroy, nor bounds confine."
Thus is prophesied by the Oracle of Diana the founding of Britain by Brutus. Ashburton's historiographical style blurs the lines between myth and history, making this work both enlightening and enjoyable. This second edition expands the first edition beyond the original 1793 ending through 1798 and is accentuated with over 75 engravings created expressly for Ashburton's History.
While his History is typically (and some would say, unjustly) overshadowed by other 18th century English historians like David Hume, Tobias Smollett, and Catharine Macaulay, Ashburton's History is engaging for both the academic and the lay historian.
Price: $1,200.00