Böcker i Cambridge Library Collection - British & Irish History, 17th & 18th Centuries-serien

Captain Coram's Foundling Hospital was established in 1739 for 'the maintenance and education of exposed and deserted young children'. Hogarth was a governor of the hospital - he donated several pictures, including his portrait of Coram - as was Handel, whose famous performances of his oratorio Messiah were given there from 1750 to raise funds. John Brownlow (1800-73), himself a foundling, was secretary of the hospital from 1849 until his retirement. He introduced improvements to the children's education and was a staunch defender of the hospital, countering the criticism often levelled in the nineteenth century that taking in illegitimate children simply encouraged neglect. Brownlow's Memoranda, first published in 1847, presents a valuable account of the hospital, its early supporters, and Coram, as well as descriptions of the paintings (Kneller's portrait of Handel among them) which formed the first public art gallery in London. The book also includes contemporary engravings and facsimiles of many original documents.

Controversial Jewish journalist and political lobbyist Lucien Wolf (1857-1930) co-founded the Jewish Historical Society of England in 1893, editing this work in 1901. It comprises a series of pamphlets and tracts written by Menasseh ben Israel (1604-57). An Amsterdam rabbi and founder of the city's first Hebrew publishing house, Menasseh was well regarded among non-Jewish theologians. As an advocate of messianic tradition, he sought to scatter the Jews across the world, leading him to England in the 1650s to campaign for their readmission following Edward I's edict of expulsion in 1290. The material presented here is chiefly concerned with Menasseh's interactions with Oliver Cromwell and shows the rabbi taking advantage of the contemporary drive for reinstatement for reasons of religious toleration as well as practical politics. The work includes the famous petition from the Jewish community and offers valuable insight into the history of the Jews in England.

In this 1782 travelogue, naturalist Thomas Pennant (1726-98) immortalised the local history, churches, homes and antiquities he encountered on his yearly trip to London. In The Literary Life of the Late Thomas Pennant, Esq. (1793), also reissued in this series, Pennant writes that he often stayed several days or more in each village to learn about its history. He hoped to rid the route of the 'calumny' of 'dulness', and although he was more interested in antiquities than contemporary innovations, he describes the impact of some developments such as a new canal system. In addition to describing places and artefacts which have since been altered or lost, Pennant's writing unconsciously reveals the workings of his thorough mind, with its seemingly tireless capacity for observation. Featuring twenty-two engravings, this book contains a full account of Pennant's 1780 journey, as well as the description of an alternative route beginning in Northamptonshire.

George Macartney (1737-1806) was a British statesman, diplomat and administrator who held a succession of important appointments. In 1764 he was sent as envoy extraordinary to Russia, but described the Russian nobility as 'vain, petulant, inconsequent, indiscreet, and changeable'. After several years as Chief Secretary for Ireland (1767-1772) and a governorship in the West Indies, he served as Governor of Madras in the early 1780s, a difficult role surrounded by controversy and intrigue. In 1792-1794 he travelled to China on behalf of the government and the East India Company on a mission to negotiate a trade agreement, but was unsuccessful. He ended his career as Governor of the Cape Colony. This 1908 biography, which includes extracts from previously unpublished letters by Macartney and other newly-researched archival material, complements the two-volume 1807 account of Macartney's life by Sir John Barrow, also reissued in this series.

Thomas Mortimer (1730-1810) is chiefly remembered as a writer on economics. Every Man his Own Broker was first published in 1761, and ran to fourteen editions in the next forty years, this reissue being of the fourth edition. It was based on his own experience of the stock market, which in the first half of the eighteenth century was rapidly developing, but also suffered crises in which many speculators lost heavily. Increasing sales of government stock to pay for foreign wars led to concern, and Mortimer gives practical advice to readers to avoid making mistakes by relying on brokers. The book gives a good picture of how the stock market and the London financial world were operating at this time, although Mortimer's antipathy to brokers and jobbers is exaggerated. The book contains the first use of the terms 'bull' and 'bear' to describe types of markets.

John Lauder, 2nd Lord Fountainhall (1646-1722) was a Scottish judge who opposed the Union of England and Scotland, and a perceptive observer of political affairs. His large collection of legal opinions and papers, particularly relating to the Privy Council of Scotland, is still consulted today. Chronological Notes of Scottish Affairs, from 1680 till 1701 was edited in 1822 by Sir Walter Scott, and deals with the short reign of James II and accession of William and Mary. Insertions by an earlier owner of the manuscript give the text a more aggressively Jacobite flavour than Lauder in fact felt, as his loyalty to the House of Stuart was tempered by his Presbyterianism and concerns about James' pro-Catholic policies. Lauder's career flourished under William and Mary despite his preserving his independence of party dictates, and his writings give an insight into educated Scottish Presbyterian attitudes to the 'Glorious Revolution'.

George Louis Beer (1872-1920) was an American historian, businessman and civil servant. After achieving success in the tobacco industry, Beer studied at Columbia University, and between 1893 and 1897 lectured on European history. After retiring, he studied British colonial policy, and was part of the American delegation to the Paris peace conference after the First World War; he later worked for the League of Nations. This volume, first published in 1907, contains Beer's detailed study of British policy in the American colonies between 1754 and 1765. Drawing on a variety of contemporary sources, including official State Papers and political pamphlets, Beer uses the statutes passed during this period to examine the main concerns of the British government regarding the American colonies. He discusses the changing features of British colonial policy in response to contemporary political situations, providing a comprehensive account of British policy during this period of imperial expansion.

These Memoirs, first published in 1806, show the determination of Lucy Hutchinson (1620-1681) to justify the stance of her husband Colonel John Hutchinson. In 1649 he had signed the death warrant of Charles I and went on to serve on the Council of State, but, after becoming disillusioned with Cromwell, was arrested and died in prison. Hutchinson turned her journal of the war years into a memoir, portraying her husband as a gentleman who stood by his convictions and whose allegiance to the Puritan cause was noble. The work is a significant document for the social history of the English Civil War period. It shows the author as a highly educated and accomplished woman who wrote poetry and religious works as well as translating Latin at a time when most women remained in the private sphere. For more information on this author, see http://orlando.cambridge.org/public/svPeople?person_id=hutclu

Through England on a Side Saddle was written around 1700, and first published in full in 1888. Celia Fiennes (1662-1741) was the granddaughter of the 1st Viscount Saye and Sele. She was an enthusiastic traveller through England, both for pleasure and 'to regain my health by variety and change of aire and exercise'. The diary which she kept was intended for her family to read, and, while it lacks Defoe's more systematic approach some two decades later, sheds valuable insights into English social and economic history at the turn of the century. She was uninterested in antiquities, getting most enthusiastic about new developments such as the development of spa towns such as Harrogate, mining and manufacturing industries, and the new stately homes of the period, in some of which she stayed en route. For more information on this author, see http://orlando.cambridge.org/public/svPeople?person_id=fience

The Stuart writer John Evelyn kept a diary from the age of eleven, and in the 1680s began to compile this memoir from his records. In this three-volume 1906 edition, Volume 1 begins with Evelyn's early life: regular entries commence at Oxford in 1637, and end in 1646 in France.

A pioneer of scientific methods of farming, William Marshall published widely on best practice, and was also known for his geographical surveys of agriculture. This two-volume 1789 work covers the county of Gloucestershire, but also includes dairy management in north Wiltshire and the orchards and fruit products of Herefordshire.

Published amid controversy in 1793-6, this two-volume biography of John Wesley (1703-91) includes a substantial life of his brother Charles (1707-88), fellow founder of Methodism. It remains an important work, offering researchers valuable insights into the contemporary debates over the future and structure of Methodism.

Originally published in 1815, traveller and writer Nathanial William Wraxall's two-volume memoirs were an immediate, though controversial, success: 1,000 copies sold out within five weeks. Accused and found guilty of libel, he published this 'corrected' second edition later that same year. Volume 1 covers the period 1772-81.

This two-volume work, published in 1888, gives a stirring account of the work of London's eighteenth-century law enforcers, the Bow Street Runners. It tells how the Runners were formed, and, using official records, examines a selection of criminal investigations including the Cato Street Conspiracy and the murder of William Weare.

Samuel Rawson Gardiner (1829-1902) was a Victorian historian of the seventeenth century, noted for his use of and editorial work on primary sources. This ten-volume edition of his history of the period 1603 to 1642 was published in 1883-4.

Bluestocking, author and hostess, Elizabeth Montagu's influence extended far beyond literary scholarship. Compiled by a relative, Emily Climenson, and published in 1906, this collection of her correspondence provides an excellent introduction to the culture and politics of eighteenth-century polite society.

Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-59) was one of the foremost historians of the Whig tradition. This hugely influential five-volume work, published between 1848 and 1861 to great popular acclaim (although it was not without its critics), traces the development of constitutional monarchy between 1685 and 1702.

First published in 1806, and revised and edited by her son for this 1845 sixth edition, this two-volume work by Anne Grant (1755-1838) tells her story of thirty years' residence in the Scottish Highlands. It presents an engaging view of Highland life at this time of major historical transition.

This two-volume autobiography of Theobald Wolfe Tone, completed after his death by his son, was published in Washington in 1826. It contains accounts of his adventurous life and his key role in the foundation of the United Irish Society in 1791, as well as extracts from his journals, letters, and political works.

Originally written in German, this staggeringly comprehensive six-volume history of seventeenth-century England was first published in English in 1875. This first volume prefigures the events of the seventeenth century: starting with the early Britons, Ranke summarises English history up to the early years of Charles I's reign.

A History of Ireland in the Eighteenth Century was published in this five-volume version in 1892, and aimed at providing a less sectarian history than was currently available. It remains an important source, particularly on the 1790s, as Lecky made use of records which have since been destroyed.

Joseph Harris (1704-64) was equally distinguished as an astronomer and as an expert on coinage. He became the King's Assay Master in the Royal Mint, and this 1757 work argues that it is vital to a country's economy that the value of precious metal in its coinage remains constant.

This history of Gough's parish and its families, written in 1700-1, was not apparently intended for publication; the text presented here was published in Shrewsbury in 1875. This is one of the earliest surviving examples of a local history, and is famous for its detailed account of village life.

As Paine's friend and fellow reformer, Thomas Clio Rickman (1761-1834) paints a sympathetic portrait of the influential political activist in this 1819 biography. Though not hiding Paine's known egoism, Rickman presents it alongside the better qualities of a man who did not merely 'live amid great events ... he created them'.

The naturalist Thomas Pennant published this account of his journey through Scotland and its islands in 1774. His great enthusiasm was for the Hebrides, and more than half of the book describes his voyage around the islands. This is a genial account of a region still exotic to many Britons.

The late eighteenth century saw Manchester and its surroundings undergo significant change. Historically valuable and illustrated with maps and plates, this classic 1795 work offers a detailed portrait of a region in the process of industrialisation. Karl Marx notably referred to the book in his writings.

A landmark in female historiography, this eight-volume work, first published between 1763 and 1783, focuses on the period 1603-89. Notable for her radical republican politics and influence on American revolutionary ideology, Catharine Macaulay (1731-91) drew diligently on untapped seventeenth-century sources to craft her skilful yet inevitably biased narrative.

Thomas Pennant (1726-98) is remembered for his work in bringing natural history to popular attention and for his engaging travel writing. This lavishly illustrated tour of his native country, first published in two volumes between 1778 and 1791, is full of delightful vignettes and historical background.

Thomas Pennant (1726-98) is remembered for his work in bringing natural history to popular attention and for his engaging travel writing. This lavishly illustrated tour of his native country, first published in two volumes between 1778 and 1791, is full of delightful vignettes and historical background.

Thomas Coram's Foundling Hospital was opened in London in 1741 for 'the maintenance and education of exposed and deserted young children'. John Brownlow (1800-73), himself a foundling, became secretary of the hospital from 1849 until his retirement. This 1858 account complements his 1847 Chronicles (also reissued in this series).