John Lord Campbell (1779–1861)

Absorbing for a lawyer, but also incidentally a review of several centuries of English history that I would think would interest many. A full-blooded Whig view of the years between 1300 and 1800, which is in itself refreshing in these days when a Tory view seems to be obligatory for all English-speaking literati, across all categories (see, for instance, P.D. James, The Children of Men). The author, a "Scotch" lawyer of the Victorian age, makes no secret of his Whig bias, which he describes as attachment to "the great principles of liberty". Written in the orotund and self-confident style of the earlier and middle Victorians, which is a charm in itself. The most notable datum that I took away from this multi-volume work: it seems that the Commonwealth brought into the English judicial system a level of honesty and integrity it had not had before, with such effect that even the Restoration could not obliterate it. This conclusion seems inescapable on the information presented by Lord Campbell. I wonder if it could be disputed. If not, then I would think this would be a fact of first rate importance in evaluating English history.… (más)