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8 volumes. Rare First Edition Complete. A copy with fine provenance coming from the library of the Duke of Westminster with his coat of arms to the book plates and dating to 1884. Quarto, contemporary polished and paneled calf, the spines with raised bands gilt ruled separating the compartments, two red morocco lettering labels gilt, remaining compartments with elaborate gilt tooling, the covers with triple gilt fillet rules surrounding inner and elaborate roll tooled borders in gilt and blind, central panels of triple gilt fillets and corner pieces in blind, marbled endleaves and marbled edges to match. A very handsome set, some hinges starting, the textblocks clean, fresh, crisp and unpressed. RARE FIRST EDITION COMPLETE OF THIS IMPORTANT HISTORY OF ENGLAND FROM THE FIRST INVASION OF THE ROMANS PRESENTED IN HANDSOME CONTEMPORARY BINDINGS. John Lingard (5 February 1771 17 July 1851) was an English Roman Catholic priest and historian, the author of The History of England, From the First Invasion by the Romans to the Accession of Henry VIII, an eight-volume work published in 1819. Lingard was a teacher at the English College at Douai, and at the seminary at Crook Hall, and later St. Cuthbert's College. In 1811 he retired to Hornby in Lancashire to continue work on his writing. The principal object of his major work, The History of England, is to emphasise the disastrous effects of the Reformation. The book was later expanded by the author and the title changed to reflect the period covered. As each additional volume appeared the History's reputation increased, while Lingard continued to revise and improve the whole work. Lingard himself argued that one of his chief duties as an historian was: "to weigh with care the value of the authorities on which I rely, and to watch with jealousy the secret workings of my own personal feelings and prepossessions. Such vigilance is a matter of necessity to every writer of history . Otherwise, he will be continually tempted to make an unfair use of the privilege of the historian; he will sacrifice the interests of truth to the interests of party, national, or religious, or political." (J. Lingard, "History of England", vol 1, 6th edition, London: Charles Dolman, 1854, p. 6.) Lingard adopted a non-controversial and sober approach to history with the emphasis on incontrovertible fact and using primary rather than secondary sources. Lingard's History is also an apt demonstration of the advantages a Catholic historian of the time may have had, in terms of impartiality. Lingard's religion had to a large extent isolated him from the mainstream nationalism which surrounded Protestant historians, as well as from the growing "providentialist" concept of history. Lingard's strength of argument, however, continued to be popular, and the influence of Protestant animosity for Catholic apologetic also led him to develop a keen critical judgment. He was devoted to absolute accuracy and detail and the History was a groundbreaking work in its use of primary sources. Lingard made extensive use of Vatican archives and French, Italian, Spanish and English dispatches, document collections and state papers the first British historian to do so. The peripheral nature of English Catholicism put him in a position of "outside observer" to much of English intellectual culture, and this is reflected in his historical works. Despite this distancing effect, however, Lingard maintained an active interest in politics all his life and was a noted pamphleteer. History of England is a substantial scholarly work which gave full treatment to the history of England. From 1811 until his death in 1851 Lingard spent most of his life in the village of Hornby near Lancaster, where he devoted himself to his study and writing. A quiet, gentle man, he was well liked by the residents. Lingard's popularity as an historian had its day, but his contribution to historical method came at a critical point in British intellectual history.
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