John Wilkes

The Scandalous Father of Civil Liberty

Biography & Memoir, Historical
Cover of the book John Wilkes by Arthur Cash, Yale University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Arthur Cash ISBN: 9780300133097
Publisher: Yale University Press Publication: October 1, 2008
Imprint: Yale University Press Language: English
Author: Arthur Cash
ISBN: 9780300133097
Publisher: Yale University Press
Publication: October 1, 2008
Imprint: Yale University Press
Language: English
One of the most colorful figures in English political history, John Wilkes (1726–97) is remembered as the father of the British free press, defender of civil and political liberties, and hero to American colonists, who attended closely to his outspoken endorsements of liberty. Wilkes’s political career was rancorous, involving duels, imprisonments in the Tower of London, and the Massacre of St. George’s Fields in which seven of his supporters were shot to death by government troops. He was equally famous for his “private” life-a confessed libertine, a member of the notorious Hellfire Club, and the author of what has been called the dirtiest poem in the English language.

This lively biography draws a full portrait of John Wilkes from his childhood days through his heyday as a journalist and agitator, his defiance of government prosecutions for libel and obscenity, his fight against exclusion from Parliament, and his service as lord mayor of London on the eve of the American Revolution. Told here with the force and immediacy of a firsthand newspaper account, Wilkes’s own remarkable story is inseparable from the larger story of modern civil liberties and how they came to fruition.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
One of the most colorful figures in English political history, John Wilkes (1726–97) is remembered as the father of the British free press, defender of civil and political liberties, and hero to American colonists, who attended closely to his outspoken endorsements of liberty. Wilkes’s political career was rancorous, involving duels, imprisonments in the Tower of London, and the Massacre of St. George’s Fields in which seven of his supporters were shot to death by government troops. He was equally famous for his “private” life-a confessed libertine, a member of the notorious Hellfire Club, and the author of what has been called the dirtiest poem in the English language.

This lively biography draws a full portrait of John Wilkes from his childhood days through his heyday as a journalist and agitator, his defiance of government prosecutions for libel and obscenity, his fight against exclusion from Parliament, and his service as lord mayor of London on the eve of the American Revolution. Told here with the force and immediacy of a firsthand newspaper account, Wilkes’s own remarkable story is inseparable from the larger story of modern civil liberties and how they came to fruition.

More books from Yale University Press

Cover of the book Sixty to Zero: An Inside Look at the Collapse of General Motors--and the Detroit Auto Industry by Arthur Cash
Cover of the book A Changing Wind by Arthur Cash
Cover of the book The Colorado Doctrine by Arthur Cash
Cover of the book Climate Diplomacy from Rio to Paris by Arthur Cash
Cover of the book Knowledge in the Making by Arthur Cash
Cover of the book Legends of Early Rome by Arthur Cash
Cover of the book How Democratic Is the American Constitution? by Arthur Cash
Cover of the book Tchaikovsky Papers by Arthur Cash
Cover of the book The Genesis of Roman Architecture by Arthur Cash
Cover of the book Claretta by Arthur Cash
Cover of the book Philo of Alexandria by Arthur Cash
Cover of the book Twitter and Tear Gas by Arthur Cash
Cover of the book Hard Times by Arthur Cash
Cover of the book An American Genocide by Arthur Cash
Cover of the book Death by Arthur Cash
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy