The History of England from the Accession of James Ii, Vol. Iv (In Five Volumes)

Perhaps the most famous example of the "Whig interpretation of history"-the idea that the human story has been inevitably destined for enlightenment, progress, and scientific truth-this five-volume work instantly revolutionized the British understanding of history when its first volume was published in 1848. Though not without its detractors-Karl Marx called author BARON THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY (1800-1859), an English politician and historian, "a systematic falsifier of history"-it nevertheless became a standard text, and one that is today required reading for anyone who wishes to explore changing values and ideals in historical scholarship. Volume IV opens with William of Orange's entrance into the Hague and the capitulation of the Irish and continues through the death of Mary of Orange, the emancipation of the English press, financial crises in England, and the settling of terms of peace between England and France.