This book offers the first major reassessment of the life and work of Sir Henry Bennet, earl of Arlington, for over a century. Arlington was one of Charles II's chief ministers and the book charts his early years through to the careers of his descendants, examining his political development as a courtier, diplomat, linguist and politician. Authored by a series of experts in the field, the book not only shines a light on his career, but also on Charles II's reign as a whole, on the Cavalier court and on Restoration politics. Arlington was a significant player in international politics and this is reflected in the collection's treatment of his time abroad in the 1650s, his central role as an advisor and ambassador, and his influence in Ireland.

This book offers the first major reassessment of the life and work of Sir Henry Bennet, earl of Arlington, for over a century. Arlington was one of Charles II's chief ministers and the book charts his early years through to the careers of his descendants, examining his political development as a courtier, diplomat, linguist and politician. Authored by a series of experts in the field, the book not only shines a light on his career, but also on Charles II's reign as a whole, on the Cavalier court and on Restoration politics. Arlington was a significant player in international politics and this is reflected in the collection's treatment of his time abroad in the 1650s, his central role as an advisor and ambassador, and his influence in Ireland.

John Wilkes was one of the most extraordinary and recognisable characters of the eighteenth century. In Parliament he was a fierce critic of the government and he used his newspaper, The North Briton, to help bring down the administration of Prime Minister Lord Bute. Expelled as an MP and prosecuted for libel, he staged a highly publicized return and became one of the key figures associated with securing freedom of the press. Throughout his life, Wilkes adopted multiple guises, undergoing a series of apparently contradictory reinventions. Having started out as a libertine young man about town, he became an MP, before spending several years in exile and in prison prior to his election as Lord Mayor of London. A talented classicist, he was also a seedy pornographer; vicious in his relations with many women he was devoted to his daughter. His behaviour divided friend and foe alike. This new book, marking the 250th anniversary of Wilkes’s election as Lord Mayor, seeks to uncover the enigma of a man who fascinated his own period and remains an important symbol of freedom to this day.

The diaries of an MP and Lord Mayor in the eighteenth century shed light on contemporary political life. John Wilkes (1725-1797) was one of the most intriguing characters in the eighteenth-century political world - if one with a mixed and colourful reputation. From relatively obscure beginnings, he rose to be a significant force forchange in journalism and politics, first as a Whig MP for Aylesbury, later for Middlesex. Having gained attention as proprietor of the opposition paper, the North Briton, he underwent a remarkable fall from grace, eventually being imprisoned for libel. After his release he was the focus of various reform movements. He cultivated the City of London to further his ends and in 1774 was elected Lord Mayor. Towards the end of his life he co-operated withthe Pitt administration and by the close was considered almost "respectable". His diaries chart his daily activities from his release from prison in 1770 to a few weeks before his death. They reveal a busy public figure andhis habitual haunts in London, Bath and the Isle of Wight; but also, although he was on close terms with some of the most celebrated figures of his day, such as Boswell, Garrick, Reynolds and the cross-dressing Chevalier d'Eon, they show a private man, never happier than in the company of his beloved daughter, Polly. The diaries themselves are presented here with introduction and full explanatory notes. Dr Robin Eagles is a Senior ResearchFellow at the History of Parliament.