The History of England Volume 6

Containing the Commonwealth, Charles II and James II

By: David Hume

Narrated by: Mark Elstob

David Hume's great, enduring reputation in philosophy tends to obscure the fact that, among his contemporaries, his history of England was a more successful work. The history covers almost 1800 years. Hume saw English history as an evolution from a government of will to a government of law. Advanced in Hume's masterly prose, this argument continues to make the "History" a valuable study for the modern reader. This Liberty Fund edition is based on the edition of 1778, the last to contain corrections by Hume. The typography has been modernised for ease of reading. Hume's own index to the entire work may be found at the conclusion of volume VI.©1761 Public Domain (P)2025 W F Howes Home ltd

Dense but excellent.

I have looked everywhere for an audible book on the Stuart Era post Charles I. As far as I can tell this is the only one available. David Hume is a brilliant philosopher who I have never had the opportunity to read before but I really enjoyed this chronicle.

It is challenging to follow along with at times, Hume is covering a comprehensive history of happenings in Britain, Ireland and the rest of Europe during the reign of Charles and James, not just Charles and James themselves as monarchs. The language of the time that it was written (mid 18th century) took some getting used to. It needs full attention, especially if you are not familiar with the era going into it as I was.

Overall a great listen!