An epic endeavor by a man genuinely enamored of his native Rome, Livy's «The History of Rome» was originally written in 142 books spanning the entire history of the Roman people up to Livy's day in the time of Augustus in the first century BC. While this Roman historian's monumental undertaking took most of his life, only 35 books still survive today. Livy begins with Aeneas' landing on Italy and the myth of Romulus and Remus ...
Written in the 6th century by the Bishop of Tours, «Historia Francorum» is a ten volume work that recounts the world's history from creation, focusing on the movement of Christianity into Gaul. From the life of Saint Martin of Tours to the conversion of the Franks and the conquest of Clovis, «Historia» also details the procession of Frankish kings down to Gregory's own time. The later books grow more personal, ultimately reflecting the ...
First published in 1841, this history chronicles the popular foolishness of Mackay's day. It is divided into three broad categories, including 'National Delusions,' 'Peculiar Follies,' and 'Philosophical Delusions.' The author discusses and usually debunks a wide variety of subjects and events. These include economic bubbles like the tulip craze of Holland in 1637 or the Mississippi Company financial bubble of ...
Although best known for his scientific romances that paved the way for the modern science fiction genre, H. G. Wells (1866-1946) produced significant works on politics, society, science and history. Fascinated as much with the real world as his imaginary one, and displeased with the quality of history textbooks at the end of World War I, Wells took on the task of writing his own book of world history. In 1919 he published «The Outline of History ...
Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall's «Our Island Story» is a history of England up to Queen Victoria's death, with some myths and legends mixed in. Marshall's work, which is aimed at a younger audience, was very popular when first published and is credited by historians as an inspiration. Beginning with the legends of Albion and Brutus «Our Island Story» chronicles numerous important English legends, kings, and queens, including King Ar ...
George Alfred Henty (1832-1902) was an English novelist, war correspondent and imperialist who wrote 122 books, mostly for children. As a young man, Henty volunteered for the Army Hospital Commissariat in the Crimean War. In letters to his father, he wrote vivid descriptions of the appalling conditions for British soldiers, which his father sent to be published in the newspaper. This led to his post as a Special Correspondent, and he proceeded t ...
Thomas Babington Macaulay was a child prodigy who, by the age of 8, had written a history of the world and a poem in three cantos modeled after the poetry of Sir Walter Scott. He studied law at Trinity College, Cambridge, but drew great attention for several literary essays he contributed to the Edinburgh Review. In 1849, he published the first two volumes of «The History of England, From the Accession of James II», which were immediately well-r ...
Only twenty-four when he joined the Scott expedition, an intellectual Englishman desirous of feeding his passion for knowledge with first-hand discovery in Antarctica, Apsley Cherry-Garrard ultimately learned and endured enough to begin questioning everything he had ever known. From 1910 to 1913, this young man was a part of an expedition for penguin eggs that went fatally wrong. Cherry-Garrard describes the individual crew members, the specific ...
First written and published in 1837, Carlyle initially was asked to write this account by his overworked friend John Stuart Mill. Taking the commission to heart, Carlyle proceeded to write a historical masterpiece, combining a scrupulous consideration for facts with a unique style of writing. Rather than a detached account of this turbulent time, Carlyle uses poetic prose that makes readers feel almost as though they are participants in the riot ...
