Charles James Fox [Hardcover]

L. G. Mitchell (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0198201044 | ISBN-13: 978-0198201045 | Publication Date: July 9, 1992

Charles James Fox was one of the most colorful figures in eighteenth-century politics. Notorious for the excesses of his private life, he was at the same time one of the leading politicians of his generation, dominating the Whig party and polite society. As the political rival of Pitt the Younger and the intellectual rival of Edmund Burke, his views on the major issues of the day--the American War of Independence, the French Revolution, parliamentary reform--formed the character of Whiggery in his own time and for years to come. Fox's historical reputation has been hotly disputed. Some have hailed him as one of the founding fathers of Radicalism, others have dismissed him as an irritating and irresponsible impediment to the statesmanship of Pitt. Mitchell's scholarly biography shows that in many ways Fox was a politician through circumstance, not kinship and friendship which to an astonishing degree dictated Fox's politics, and offers striking new assessments of Whiggery and its most potent personality. This penetrating and readable study reveals the man and his mind, and sets Fox firmly within the political and social context of the late eighteenth century.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A distinguished biography of Charles James Fox, easily the best to date. His first two chapters, on Fox's career to 1782, are brilliant and gracefully written essays....A fine work and most welcome."--American Historical Review

"Mitchell...has crafted a biographical gem....A work of remarkable compression and lucidity....Scholars and general readers alike will welcome Mitchell's excellent biography."--The Historian

"Undoubtedly the best account of Fox's career to be written so far--scholarly, lucid, perceptive and unfailingly humane."--Times Literary Supplement

"It is greatly to the credit of the author of this book that he does not only tell the life story of his subject, but also seeks to explain, and indeed to appraise, the legend that for almost 200 years now has gathered around his name."--The Sunday Times (London)

"So good that we can now quite happily wait another 20 years before we'll need any more [biographies]....Mitchell has produced as definitive a biography as it is possible to write of a personality as huge and diverse as Charles James Fox."--Sunday Telegraph

About the Author

Mitchell is the leading scholar of the Whigs. For OUP he has edited he Writings and Speeches of Edmund Burke Volume VIII (OUP, 1989), co-edited The History of the University of Oxford Volume V (OUP, 1986), and is the author of Charles James Fox and the Disintegration of the Whig Party (Oxford Historical Monographs, 1971).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 356 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (July 9, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198201044
• ISBN-13: 978-0198201045
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,434,170 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First-class treatment of the subject, July 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Charles James Fox (Penguin Popular Classics) (Paperback)

After finishing this book, it is hard to imagine there can be anything left to say about Charles James Fox. The familiar picture emerges of a politician who didn't have the skills or temperament of Pitt the Younger and hence was in opposition for most of his career. Yet Mitchell also makes two very interesting observations. First, Fox often preferred his private social life to politics. Did he, in fact, spend more time at the race track and at his London club than at the House of Commons? Secondly, Fox was less of a radical than most of his contemporaries thought. He was not, for instance, especially keen on far-reaching parliamentary reform. A big thumbs-up for this biography, not least for quoting verbatim from the strong language of certain original sources!