Product Description

Charles James Fox was one of the most colourful 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. L. G. Mitchell's scholarly biography shows that in many ways Fox was a politician through circumstance, not inclination. Dr Mitchell analyses the ties of 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #333986 in Books
• Published on: 1992-06-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 356 pages

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

Customer Reviews

Mitchell on Fox
Mitchell's biography of Charles James Fox is written with a superb blend of analytical discussion and sympathetic insight. The themes and events of the late nineteenth century world of politics are dealt with in a clear and professional manner, and Mitchell's unique style of narration makes characters such as Pitt the Younger, George III and Edmund Burke more accessible to the modern reader. It is, however, when dealing with the character of Fox himself, that Mitchell really excells. The Fox we are presented with is a man with very real failings who often acted rashly and unadvisedly, but he is also a man who was a great human being. Fox's vices are explored in an honest and forthright manner, and yet Mitchell does not condemn Fox for his political failings. Rather he points out Fox's value as a friend and an inspiration to a generation of Whig politicians; as a man who may not have been as successful as his rival, Pitt, but who was, in some ways, more alive than the Prime Minister. The sensitivity with which the author deals with Fox's personal life makes the great Whig ever more real to the reader.

Mitchell's book is an important addition to the collections of both those who have a casual interest in eighteenth century politics, and those who (like me) are fasinated with the enigma that was Charles James Fox.