Bolingbroke and His Circle - by Isaac Kramnick (Paperback)

About the Book

An exploration on Bolingbroke's influence on the politics and literature of the Augustan Age.

Book Synopsis

"Behind this study lie two questions. Why is Bolingbroke, known primarily as a rationalist philosopher of the Enlightenment, so worshipped by English conservatives who are themselves, since Burke, so set against what the Enlightenment represents in political, social, and religious thought? The second question relates to Bolingbroke's public life. How does one explain the intense animosity between Bolingbroke and Walpole which provides the energy for English political life between 1725 and 1740? Is it mere vindictiveness, ambition, jealousy, or the inevitable reflex of the 'outsider' against the 'insider'? Or is it, as the late Victorian writers thought, their falling out at Eton which forever fated them to be protagonists?"--from the Preface.

From the Back Cover

'Examining the acrimonious political debate during the administration of Walpole from the perspective of its social context, Kramnick focuses directly upon the political culture of Augustan Britain. As the title implies, the volume is chiefly concerned with analyzing the thought and behavior of Bolingbroke and his supporters. The result is the most comprehensive and persuasive general study thus far published of early eighteenth-century British political thought.

Review Quotes

A perceptive and learned contribution to the understanding of English eighteenth-century thought and of the role in it of enigmatic Viscount Bolingbroke. No one concerned with the political theories of Augustan England can afford to ignore Kramnick's book.

-- "Political Science Quarterly"

An excellent book--erudite, penetrating, and extremely well-written.

-- "American Political Science Review"

An illuminating analysis of Bolingbroke's political writings [and] a contribution of the first importance to eighteenth-century studies.

-- "American Historical Review"

Examining the acrimonious political debte during the administration of Walpole from the perspective of its social context, [Kramnick] focuses directly upon the political culture of Augustan Britain. As the title implies, the volume is chiefly concerned with analyzing the thought and behavior of Bolingbroke and his supporters, especially Swift, Pope, Gay, and Lyttleton. But it devotes almost equal space to an explication of the ideas of both Bolingbroke's opponents... and ambivalent Commonwealthmen... who shared many of Bolingbroke's impulses but whose thought veered off in genuinely radical directions. The result is the most comprehensive and persuasive general study thus far published of early eighteenth-century British political thought.

--Jack P. Greene "William and Mary Quarterly"

About the Author

Isaac Kramnick is Richard J. Schwartz Professor of Government at Cornell University.