Getting Started, 1750–1757
Burke left Ireland in 1750 to study law at the Middle Temple in London. In the vast anonymity of London, he had at first few friends or connections, no supportive group with which he could identify. His first intimate London friend, William Burke, inspired a lasting and affectionate regard. Until about 1755, Burke was financially dependent on his father, Richard Burke. Burke was intended by his father for the Bar, the more prestigious branch of the profession. By 1754, Burke had decided to seek other means of livelihood than the law, which provoked an angry response from his father. Burke's first book, the Vindication of Natural Society, received positive reviews, especially about the quality of the writing, but his most ambitious literary project was his Philosophical Enquiry, though it was not published until 1757. He married Jane Nugent on March 12, 1757.
Keywords: William Burke, Middle Temple, London, Richard Burke, law, Vindication of Natural Society, Jane Nugent
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