Patriotism and Public Spirit: Edmund Burke and the Role of the Critic in Mid-Eighteenth-Century Britain
"Ian Crowe'sPatriotism and Public Spirit: Edmund Burke and the Role of the Critic in Mid-Eighteenth-Century Britainis a specialized study of Burke and his time which not only fills important niches but offers insights valuable to a broader understanding of Burke and of the political philosophical thought of the eighteenth century. . . [A]n insightful and welcome contribution to our understanding of Burke and of eighteenth century British thought."—William F. Byrne,The University Bookman"If 'Enlightenment' means anything, it describes a single (if eventually predominant) trend in a wider 'Republic of Letters': so argues Ian Crowe in the introduction toPatriotism and Public Spirit. Crowe's promising idea is to place the younger Burke within that Republic of Letters, and specifically the world of Burke's well-connected publisher Robert Dodsley . . . Crowe has hit on a valuable approach of some importance, simply by taking seriously the vibrant intellectual culture of mid-century London."—Daniel Hitchens,Times Literary Supplement"This book is sure to be important reading for academics specializing in Burke studies and in the history of eighteenth-century political thought, for literary scholars of the early and mid eighteenth-century, and for eighteenth-century historians in general. Every page abounds with new and valuable insights."—Jonathan Clark, Kansas University