This is a major new student edition of the text described as "the first modern classic of English history." Francis Bacon's insight into human motives, his life-long experience of politics and government, and his remarkable literary skills, render this History of the Reign of King Henry VII a major work of English literature and an important document in the history of political thought. The edition also includes other relevant writings by Bacon, generous editorial footnotes explaining the historical and political issues of the period, and a substantial glossary.

This is a major student edition of the text described as 'the first modern classic of English history'. Bacon's penetration into human motives, his life-long experience of politics and government, and his remarkable literary skills, render this History of the Reign of King Henry VII a major work of English literature and an important document in the history of political thought. The introduction places Bacon's History in the context of Renaissance historiography, revealing its debt to Tacitus, and shows Bacon's originality in re-ordering traditional material to make a coherent psychological analysis of the King's actions. In addition to the usual series features and supporting contextual material (including relevant Essays by Bacon), generous editorial footnotes explain the historical and political issues of the reign of Henry VII, and a substantial glossary clarifies Bacon's rich but sometimes unfamiliar vocabulary.

Jerry Weinberger reinterprets the meaning of Francis Bacon's History and defines its importance to the rise of modern republicanism, liberalism and the politics of progress. His introduction describes the background of Bacon's History placing it in the context of Bacon's work and the sources he may have used. Weinberger comments on the changing reputation and interpretation of The History and discusses its significance as a work of early modern political philosophy. The text of The History follows, accompanied by extensive explanatory footnotes. Weinberger's annotations establish the relationship of text to the surviving manuscript, the first printed edition, and the Latin translation. In addition, they show Bacon's differences from the earlier historians on whom he relied, explaining obsolete words, and clarifying matters of historical chronology and fact. In his interpretive essay, Weinberger discusses contemporary debates on how best to approach and understand The History. He suggest that Bacon's apparently contradictory work is a subtle and seamless picture of the modern state. The History is not just an account of the first Tudor monarch, Weinberger claims; it also presents Bacon's teachings about the moral and political ends of modern progress. At its deepest level, Bacon's work addresses the justification of modern times and reopens the ageless questions of political philosophy.

Originally published in Great Britain by Penguin Books Ltd., 2011.

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