Book Description

V. 1. Presents Burke's early literary writings up to 1765, and before he became a key political figure. It is the first fully annotated and critical edition, with comprehensive notes and an authoritative introduction. The writings published here introduce readers to Burke's early attempts at a public voice. v. 3. Continues the story of Burke, the Rockingham party of Whigs to which he adhered, and the American crisis. Burke had already established himself as a master of debate and an accomplished writer in the early 1770s; by the end of the decade he was recognized as one of the greatest parliamentarians of the age. v. 4. The fourth volume in the Writings and Speeches of Edmund Burke series is also the last of the three Party and Parliament volumes, which follow Edmund Burke through from the opening of a newly elected Parliament which assembled on 31 October 1780 to his retirement from the Commons in 1794. This volume addresses Burke's views on the authority of Parliament over the British provinces in India, and his concerns about the implications of the French Revolution for British politics. He also expresses his views on issues that had always greatly interested him, such as the reform of criminal law, the confinement of debtors, and the abolition of what he regarded as outmoded economic regulations. The texts for the items, which have appeared in previous editions of Burke's Works, have been reconstructed, largely by the use of manuscripts, and many of the shorter speeches appear here in print for the first time. v. 5. A scholarly edition of the writings and speeches of Edmund Burke. The edition presents an authoritative text, together with an introduction, commentary notes, and scholarly apparatus. v. 6. Contains Burke's writings and speeches during two years in the House of Commons and the first session of the trial in the House of Lords. The volume covers the beginnings of the famous impeachment of Warren Hastins, which was to be one of Burke's major preoccupations for the rest of his life. The speeches convey Burke's vision of India and of imperial justice, as well as his moral and political thought as a whole on the eve of the French Revolution. v. 7. This key volume specifically completes the collection of Edmund Burke's Indian Writings and Speeches which is set within the series, and is both an exposition of Burke's views on India from his coverage of the Hastings trial, and his views on maintaining the rule of a universal justice. The texts for the items, which have appeared in previous editions of Burke's Works, have been reconstructed, largely by the use of manuscripts. Indeed many of the shorter speeches appear here in print for the first time. The volume includes a key speech which introduced one of the main charges in the trial of Warren Hastings on an impeachment from 1789-1794, and an important report on the conduct of the trial. It closes with Burke's important and detailed summation of the prosecution's. However, this volume is not only a full exposition of Burke's views on India but contains much of great interest about other aspects of his thought. In particular, Burke saw himself in these years as being engaged in a battle against the lawless disruption of society, both in Europe and in Asia, in order to maintain the rule of a universal justice, a main theme of this volume. v. 8. This is the first edition of Burke's famous Reflections on the Revolution in France to appear for twenty years. No edition of his other writings on the Revolution has appeared for almost a century. In these years, the background against which Burke wrote has been much studied, throwing new light on his motives for commentating on France, and the reasons why his writings were both widely read and widely rejected. Published two hundred years after the outbreak of the French Revolution, this edition shows that the issues raised by the most influential commentaries on that Revolution have yet to be resolved. v. 9. This collection of the writings and speeches of Burke include a critique of the French Revolution which expresses much of his matured thinking on political and social life and issued a call for a European crusade to save civilization; and his thoughts on Irish constitutional, economic, and religious problems and Anglo-Irish relations. -- Publisher.