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Autobiography and Other Essays
An Autobiography and Other Essays
237 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1949
About the author
George Macaulay Trevelyan
198 books41 followersGeorge Macaulay Trevelyan, OM, CBE, FRS, FBA, was an English historian. Trevelyan was the third son of Sir George Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet, and great-nephew of Thomas Babington Macaulay, whose staunch liberal Whig principles he espoused in accessible works of literate narrative avoiding a consciously dispassionate analysis, that became old-fashioned during his long and productive career. Contemporary E. H. Carr considered Trevelyan to be one of the last historians of the Whig tradition.
Many of his writings promoted the Whig Party, an important aspect of British politics from the 1600s to the mid-1800s, and of its successor, the Liberal Party. Whigs and Liberals believed the common people had a more positive effect on history than did royalty and that democratic government would bring about steady social progress.
Trevelyan's history is engaged and partisan. Of his Garibaldi trilogy, "reeking with bias", he remarked in his essay "Bias in History", "Without bias, I should never have written them at all. For I was moved to write them by a poetical sympathy with the passions of the Italian patriots of the period, which I retrospectively shared."
Many of his writings promoted the Whig Party, an important aspect of British politics from the 1600s to the mid-1800s, and of its successor, the Liberal Party. Whigs and Liberals believed the common people had a more positive effect on history than did royalty and that democratic government would bring about steady social progress.
Trevelyan's history is engaged and partisan. Of his Garibaldi trilogy, "reeking with bias", he remarked in his essay "Bias in History", "Without bias, I should never have written them at all. For I was moved to write them by a poetical sympathy with the passions of the Italian patriots of the period, which I retrospectively shared."
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February 20, 2026
I have quite a few of his books, including the 4-volume social history of England. He is the great-nephew of Macaulay!
It's an Autobiography, not a detailed memoir. The biography is roughly 50 pages, and the remaining 150 pages are his Essays. The biography deals with the pivotal moments, individuals, and books that have inspired him to write history. So, a very focused biography.
He says that during his Cambridge days, he used to rapturously listen to debates between more senior students/researchers like Russell and Moore! What a delight, I am envious.
He is a big fan of Meredith's poetry; he has read a few of his books but not any of his poems.
His Essay on History and Reader is worth a read. He talks about how this scientific approach to history was imported from Germany back in the 19th century. It is objective/positive, not normative, and intended for specialists. He strongly pushes back, arguing that it is a blend of art and science and that you cannot remove the art component from a subject that addresses the complexities of human interaction. His arguments can be used against the so-called neoclassical economics. It feels like a scientific approach to science, economics, falsification/verification in philosophy, and the logical basis of mathematics... all these happened between 1880-1920. In all cases, Oxford played a key role!
Even though I studied in Cambridge, the name of a bridge over the river near Magdalene College. The river was called Granta, and so from Grantabrycge to Cantebrigge (hence our email cantab) to Cambridge, and the river's name then changed to Cam from Granta. Also, Granta gave Granchester
His defence of Cromwell (Cromwell's Statue: the title of the essay) is interesting. He argued that without Cromwell, England would have turned to monarchical despotism. Charles 2 came to the throne because parliament wanted him, and so the constitutional monarchy is deeply ingrained in English life. Otherwise, things could have been like France, where England would have had its own 1789. Should read Cromwell, seems like an interesting character. T suggest his statue in front of Westminster is therefore justified
It's an Autobiography, not a detailed memoir. The biography is roughly 50 pages, and the remaining 150 pages are his Essays. The biography deals with the pivotal moments, individuals, and books that have inspired him to write history. So, a very focused biography.
He says that during his Cambridge days, he used to rapturously listen to debates between more senior students/researchers like Russell and Moore! What a delight, I am envious.
He is a big fan of Meredith's poetry; he has read a few of his books but not any of his poems.
His Essay on History and Reader is worth a read. He talks about how this scientific approach to history was imported from Germany back in the 19th century. It is objective/positive, not normative, and intended for specialists. He strongly pushes back, arguing that it is a blend of art and science and that you cannot remove the art component from a subject that addresses the complexities of human interaction. His arguments can be used against the so-called neoclassical economics. It feels like a scientific approach to science, economics, falsification/verification in philosophy, and the logical basis of mathematics... all these happened between 1880-1920. In all cases, Oxford played a key role!
Even though I studied in Cambridge, the name of a bridge over the river near Magdalene College. The river was called Granta, and so from Grantabrycge to Cantebrigge (hence our email cantab) to Cambridge, and the river's name then changed to Cam from Granta. Also, Granta gave Granchester
His defence of Cromwell (Cromwell's Statue: the title of the essay) is interesting. He argued that without Cromwell, England would have turned to monarchical despotism. Charles 2 came to the throne because parliament wanted him, and so the constitutional monarchy is deeply ingrained in English life. Otherwise, things could have been like France, where England would have had its own 1789. Should read Cromwell, seems like an interesting character. T suggest his statue in front of Westminster is therefore justified
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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