This is the concluding volume of a biography of Edmund Burke, a key figure in eighteenth-century British and Irish politics and intellectual life. Covering the years 1784–97, its leading themes are India and the French Revolution. Burke was largely responsible for the impeachment of Warren Hastings, former Governor-General of Bengal, whose long trial is recognized as a landmark in the history of Britain's relationship with India. The author provides the first day-by-day account of the entire trial, highlighting some of the many disputes about evidence, as well as the great speeches by Burke an ... More

This is the concluding volume of a biography of Edmund Burke, a key figure in eighteenth-century British and Irish politics and intellectual life. Covering the years 1784–97, its leading themes are India and the French Revolution. Burke was largely responsible for the impeachment of Warren Hastings, former Governor-General of Bengal, whose long trial is recognized as a landmark in the history of Britain's relationship with India. The author provides the first day-by-day account of the entire trial, highlighting some of the many disputes about evidence, as well as the great speeches by Burke and others. In 1790, Burke published Reflections on the Revolution in France, the earliest sustained attack on the principles of the Revolution. This remains, to this day, the most widely read book on the subject. Additionally, the biography examines Burke's parliamentary career, his family, friendships, philanthropy, and personality. The book's numerous illustrations and contemporary caricatures convey how Burke was perceived by an uncomprehending public. Controversial in his time, he is now regarded as one of the greatest orators in the English language, as well as one of the most influential political philosophers in the Western tradition.