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G. M. Trevelyan: A Life in History
George Macaulay Trevelyan (18761962) is a name scarcely familiar in most twentieth-century households. Yet during the first half of this century he was the most famous, honored, influential, and widely read historian of his generation. In this compelling volume David Cannadine preserves the memory of this powerful figure in a thoroughly researched biography that draws from a wealth of Trevelyan's own writings and the recollections of those who knew him.
304 pages, Paperback
First published September 24, 1992
48 people want to read
About the author
David Cannadine
70 books75 followersSir David Cannadine FBA FRSL FSA FRHistS is a British author and historian, who specialises in modern history and the history of business and philanthropy.
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March 1, 2015
First, an admission--this is the world I wish I had been born into--the intellectual aristocracy. Of course, I would have been the mediocre black sheep in the family but I could have lived with that. Amazingly, they were not only an aristocracy but very much an intellectual one. The Trevelyan's were related to all the other members it seemed--first of all, his great uncle Macaulay, the famous historian (whose name became his own middle name), Darwin AND Huxley, the Keyneses, the Wilberforces, etc.
This is not a regular biography but rather an intellectual biography of a unique sort. The first chapter is a brief biography, then Cannadine reviews Trevelyan's different "selves"--"The Liberal Internationalist," "The Whig Constitutionalist," "The Rural Elegist," and finally covers his reputation as a historian along with those who attacked or defended him. He seems a bit too defensive in this section but that may have been one of the reasons he wrote the book.
Throughout the book you see Trevelyan's thinking, and therefore writing, change. On one hand, he became more conservative. On the other hand, Cannadine thinks his writing became more open-minded, more understanding of those who took a different position.
Perhaps I just enjoyed a personal fantasy, but I did enjoy the book.
This is not a regular biography but rather an intellectual biography of a unique sort. The first chapter is a brief biography, then Cannadine reviews Trevelyan's different "selves"--"The Liberal Internationalist," "The Whig Constitutionalist," "The Rural Elegist," and finally covers his reputation as a historian along with those who attacked or defended him. He seems a bit too defensive in this section but that may have been one of the reasons he wrote the book.
Throughout the book you see Trevelyan's thinking, and therefore writing, change. On one hand, he became more conservative. On the other hand, Cannadine thinks his writing became more open-minded, more understanding of those who took a different position.
Perhaps I just enjoyed a personal fantasy, but I did enjoy the book.
Displaying 1 of 1 review