First published in 1855 and reissued here in the second edition of that year, this two-volume work celebrates the life of the author, wit and clergyman Sydney Smith (1771-1845). A founder of the second Edinburgh Review, Smith is best remembered for his entertaining observations and witticisms. The work comprises a memoir, written by Smith's daughter Saba Holland (1802-66), and a selection of letters, edited by Sarah Austin (1793-1867). Together, the volumes offer private insights into a man who lived much of his life in the public eye. Volume 2 includes Smith's letters to his friends and contemporaries. Forward-thinking on issues such as women's rights and child labour, he shows himself in these letters to be a wit, critic and 'champion of truth and freedom'.

This translation by Sarah Austin (1793 1867) of German historian Leopold von Ranke's work contributed significantly to early modern history and historiography. By some accounts 'the best living translator' of her time, Austin was a member of social circles that included Jeremy Bentham and J. S. Mill. Ranke (1795 1886) worked for most of his life at the University of Berlin, writing several histories covering the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries. Austin's translation recognises Ranke's importance to Western historiography: his methodology stressed the centrality of using primary sources and of the historian's objectivity. Ranke's history engages with a much wider area than his title suggests; indeed, his subject is 'the struggle between Catholicism and Protestantism, between authority and innovation', as Austin writes. Volume 3 analyses the period 1590 1630 and examines later significant events and includes an expansive appendix. These volumes will be of interest to early modern historians and historiographers alike.

This translation by Sarah Austin (1793 1867) of German historian Leopold von Ranke's work contributed significantly to early modern history and historiography. By some accounts 'the best living translator' of her time, Austin was a member of circles that included Jeremy Bentham and J. S. Mill. Ranke (1795 1886) worked for most of his life at the University of Berlin, writing several histories covering the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries. Austin's translation recognises Ranke's importance to Western historiography: his methodology stressed the centrality of using primary sources and of the historian's objectivity. Ranke's history engages with a much wider area than his title suggests; indeed, his subject is 'the struggle between Catholicism and Protestantism, between authority and innovation', as Austin writes. Volume 2 is almost wholly concerned with the Counter-Reformation (and coins the term), from 1563 to 1630. These volumes will be of interest to early modern historians and historiographers alike.

Lucie Duff Gordon (1821 1869) was a translator and travel writer. Forced to leave England in 1851 due to tuberculosis, she went first to South Africa and then to Egypt. Her letters home were published, with considerable success. She writes with great feeling about the ordinary life of the Egyptians: her interest in and sympathy with them is clear, and her great affection for them led to criticism of the derogatory way in which many western visitors regarded them. But she was also highly critical of the effects of western influence on them, and her comments about the Suez Canal project and new railroads being achieved by forced labour and high taxes were not well received: some of her political opinions were removed from subsequent editions. This volume, first published in 1865, was edited by her mother, also a writer, and covers the years 1862 1865, including her voyage out.