Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-1859) won instantaneous and outstanding success in prose and poetry, in politics and oratory. His History, translated throughout Europe and achieving sales in America second only to the Bible, immediately became the canon of historical orthodoxy, replacing previous histories so completely that it is now difficult to see past its long and apparently effortless triumph. In the sweep and power of his writing Macaulay rivals the finest novelists. He was much influenced by Sir Walter Scott and relied heavily on literature to recapture the atmosphere of the past. Though the theme of his History is clearly defined - the 1688 Revolution and the reign of William III which effectively consolidated that Revolution - it succeeds in presenting Macaulay's interpretation of the whole course of English history. He possessed an unerring grasp of political reality and he firmly reasserted the primacy of politics in the historical process as the essential motor of social change.

Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-1859) won instantaneous and outstanding success in prose and poetry, in politics and oratory. His History, translated throughout Europe and achieving sales in America second only to the Bible, immediately became the canon of historical orthodoxy, replacing previous histories so completely that it is now difficult to see past its long and apparently effortless triumph. In the sweep and power of his writing Macaulay rivals the finest novelists. He was much influenced by Sir Walter Scott and relied heavily on literature to recapture the atmosphere of the past. Though the theme of his History is clearly defined - the 1688 Revolution and the reign of William III which effectively consolidated that Revolution - it succeeds in presenting Macaulay's interpretation of the whole course of English history. He possessed an unerring grasp of political reality and he firmly reasserted the primacy of politics in the historical process as the essential motor of social change.