Audiobook · read by volunteers
History of England, from the Accession of James II - (Volume 1, Chapter 03)
Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800–1859)
Read by David Barnes, Jim Mowatt, Alys AtteWater, Gesine, Aaron Hochwimmer, Dilini Jayasinghe, Nikolle Doolin · 16 chapters · 5 h 17
About the book
What was England really like in 1685? In the third chapter of his History, Macaulay turns from kings and parliaments to the daily life of the nation and paints a remarkable portrait. He considers the size of the population, the revenue, the army and navy, the state of the roads and the inns, the speed of the coaches and the character of the great cities, with special attention to London, its coffee houses and its first attempts at street lighting. The chapter is a famous example of social history written in the grand style. David Barnes, Jim Mowatt, Alys AtteWater and four other LibriVox volunteers share the sixteen parts, which together last just over five hours.
Introduction
Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-1859) devoted the third chapter of his History of England from the Accession of James II to a survey of the state of England in 1685. It is one of the most celebrated passages in the whole work, and it helped establish the idea that a historian should describe not only politics and war but also the circumstances of ordinary life.
Macaulay discusses a wide range of topics, such as population, income, agriculture, trade, military strength and transport. He describes country houses and the condition of the clergy and the poor, and he gives a lively account of London in the late seventeenth century. The chapter has been criticised for presenting the past as a darker and more primitive age than it really was, the better to emphasise how much progress had been made, but its detail and its energy are undeniable. Many later writers of social history owe it a debt.
The recording divides the chapter into sixteen parts and lasts about five hours and twenty minutes. Several LibriVox volunteers take part, with David Barnes, Jim Mowatt and Alys AtteWater among them. The text is long and full of lists and figures, yet it is surprisingly readable when spoken aloud. It is a good companion for those curious about how people lived, travelled and worked in the age of Charles II, and it shows why Macaulay was so popular in his own time.
Public domain
Thomas Babington Macaulay died in 1859: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text