When the historian Hugh Trevor-Roper died in 2003, at the age of 89, the obituaries were plentiful but not very kind. Trevor-Roper had been Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford for more than 20 years, then Master of Peterhouse College, Cambridge, and he was appointed to the House of Lords in 1979; but despite his high-Tory credentials he did not command much affection in the corridors of power.

Arguably the leading British historian of his generation, Hugh Trevor-Roper (1914–2003) is most celebrated and admired as the author of essays. This volume brings together some of the most original and radical writings of his career—many hitherto inaccessible, one never before published, all demonstrating his piercing intellect, urbane wit, and gift for elegant, vivid narrative. This collection focuses on the writing and understanding of history in the eighteenth century and on the great historians and the intellectual context that inspired or provoked their writings. It combines incisive discussion of such figures as Gibbon, Hume, and Carlyle with broad sweeps of analysis and explication. Essays on the Scottish Enlightenment and the Romantic movement are balanced by intimate portraits of lesser-known historians whose significance Trevor-Roper took particular delight in revealing.

Read more >> | Jonathan Rée – Book review: History and the Enlightenment by Hugh Trevor-Roper | New Humanist.