Audiobook · read by volunteers
History of England, from the Accession of James II - (Volume 2, Chapter 08)
Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800–1859)
Read by Rosalind Wills, Justin Brett, Kristin Hughes (1974-2021), Lizzie Driver, Kirsten Ferreri · 14 chapters · 4 h 06
About the book
James II is a Catholic king ruling a Protestant country, and by the summer of 1687 the strain is beginning to show. In this chapter of Macaulay’s History of England, the king’s determination to open public offices to Catholics brings him into open conflict with some of the most respected institutions in the land.
The most famous standoff takes place at Oxford, where fellows of Magdalen College refuse to accept the king’s choice of president, and at Cambridge, where the university resists an order to admit a monk. At the same time, the bishops are drawn into a confrontation that will end in a celebrated trial.
Macaulay tells these episodes with energy, humour and a gift for character. Fourteen parts, a little over four hours. A gripping account of a monarchy at odds with its people, and a chapter that shows how quickly a crisis can gather speed.
Introduction
Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-1859) published the first two volumes of his History of England from the Accession of James the Second in 1848, and the work made him one of the most popular historians of his century. Eloquent, detailed and dramatic, it set a standard for narrative history that many later writers tried to follow. Macaulay was also a Whig politician and a member of the governing council in India, and his political outlook colours his interpretation of events.
This recording is of Chapter 8 of the second volume. It follows the conflict between James II and his subjects over religion. James, a Catholic, sought to give his fellow Catholics access to public positions, including posts in the universities, and he used royal authority to override laws that stood in the way. The result was resistance from the Church of England, which had long supported the Stuart monarchy, and from institutions such as Magdalen College, Oxford, and the University of Cambridge. Macaulay presents these episodes as turning points on the road to the revolution of 1688.
The chapter is rich in portraits of the people involved, among them clergymen, courtiers and lawyers, and it conveys the atmosphere of a court and a country on edge. It is easy to follow even for listeners who have not read the earlier chapters.
The recording consists of fourteen parts, with a total running time of just over four hours, read by LibriVox volunteers. For anyone interested in the political and religious history of seventeenth-century Britain, it provides a lively and accessible introduction.
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