The History of the Great Rebellion - Folio Society edition

Hyde, Edward, Earl of Clarendon (Roger Lockyer, ed.)

Published by The Folio Society, London,, 1967

About this Item

First printing. Royal octavo; hardcover, boards decorated in gilt; 469pp., top edges dyed blue, with some maps and monochrome plates. Minor wear; slight spotting to fore edge; slightly rubbed along the hinges and on the rear board. Very good to fine in slightly worn slipcase. Postage quoted is for a standard format octavo book. Final charges may vary depending on size and weight. After serving Charles I, Hyde had preferred to go into exile and serve Charles II rather than come to terms with the king's enemies. He could have made his peace with Cromwell, and returned to England to safeguard what was left of his estates, as many men did in the eleven years that passed between the execution of Charles I and the restoration of Charles II. But Hyde was not a compromiser. The History shows him to be a man of principle who believed that the best guide to action is morality, and that time servers are detestable. He could not be sure as we can that the Restoration would one day take place. he had to endure exile and often poverty in the hope that eventually England would return to her senses, but he must sometimes have wondered whether in fact that day would ever come. Meanwhile he did all that he could to advance the royalist cause. He kept up a voluminous correspondence with his contacts in England, he went on missions to foreign courts, and most important of all he acted as chief advisor to the young and politically inexperienced Charles II, constantly impressing on him the need to remain faithful to those two great works of time: the English church and the English constitution. It says much for Charles that he listened to Hyde's advice, and in 1658 appointed him Lord Chancellor. Clarendon's History of the Rebellion is divided into sixteen books, beginning with the accession of Charles I in 1625 and ending with the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. The present selection is taken from books 6-11 and covers the period from the raising of the king's standard at Nottingham in 1642 to the end of the second civil war and the execution of Charles I. Long passages dealing with negotiations between king and Parliament, and with events in Scotland and Ireland have been omitted. Seller Inventory # 69381

Bibliographic Details

Title: The History of the Great Rebellion - Folio ...

Publisher: The Folio Society, London,

Publication Date: 1967