A few years after her marriage to a wealthy American, the English stage-actress Frances Anne Kemble (1809 1893) moved with her husband to his residence in Georgia, where he had inherited two plantations. There she kept a journal of her shocking observations of the practice of slavery. Written over a period of less than four months, Kemble's journal records her day-to-day encounters with her husband's slaves, and attempts to expose the moral injustice of slavery. The journal circulated privately among her friends, but was not published until 1863, long after Kemble's divorce in 1849. Her book...

Through his affiliation with the New York Herald, the young English-born writer Kinahan Cornwallis (1839 1917), was afforded the opportunity to witness the nineteen-year-old Prince of Wales's 1860 highly successful tour of Canada and America more closely than any other individual outside the royal party. He chronicled his observations and depicted the progress of the first visit of a member of the British royal family to the Americas, and the resulting book was quickly published in New York. Cornwallis wrote that his great aim in recounting the travels of His Royal Highness was to provide the...

George Washington (1732 1799) was the first president of the United States, having led the Continental army to victory against the British during the American War of Independence. He became known as 'Father of the Country' owing to his key role in the formation of the nation, and is commemorated in its currency, postage stamps and the capital city's name. This biography, first published in 1807 and reissued here in the 1858 Boston edition, is a simply written narrative to inform the 'unlettered portion of the community', and is based on eye-witness accounts and personal recollections from...

Captain Frederick Marryat (1792 1848) was a distinguished naval officer, today best remembered as a novelist (particularly of stories for children), often drawing on his own experiences. He also edited a radical journal, and wrote non-fiction, including an attack on press-gangs, which damaged his career. He spent 1837 and 1838 travelling in North America, publishing his impressions in this unstructured six-volume 'diary' in 1839. He states that the number of contradictory and often trivial accounts of American life being published made him want to see the New World for himself. He found it...

Captain Frederick Marryat (1792 1848) was a distinguished naval officer, today best remembered as a novelist (particularly of stories for children), often drawing on his own experiences. He also edited a radical journal, and wrote non-fiction, including an attack on press-gangs, which damaged his career. He spent 1837 and 1838 travelling in North America, publishing his impressions in this unstructured six-volume 'diary' in 1839. He states that the number of contradictory and often trivial accounts of American life being published made him want to see the New World for himself. He found it...

Captain Frederick Marryat (1792 1848) was a distinguished naval officer, today best remembered as a novelist (particularly of stories for children), often drawing on his own experiences. He also edited a radical journal, and wrote non-fiction, including an attack on press-gangs, which damaged his career. He spent 1837 and 1838 travelling in North America, publishing his impressions in this unstructured six-volume 'diary' in 1839. He states that the number of contradictory and often trivial accounts of American life being published made him want to see the New World for himself. He found it...

Thomas Jefferson (1743 1826) was the third United States President (1801 9) and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. An advocate of republicanism, he envisioned America as an 'Empire of Liberty' that would strive to promote freedom around the world. First published in 1853 4, this nine-volume edition of Jefferson's writings shows the breadth of his intellectual and political interests. His autobiography, letters, diaries and political memoranda reflect a life lived at the centre of pivotal events, including the French and American Revolutions, and the founding of a new...

Thomas Jefferson (1743 1826) was the third United States President (1801 9) and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. An advocate of republicanism, he envisioned America as an 'Empire of Liberty' that would strive to promote freedom around the world. First published in 1853 4, this nine-volume edition of Jefferson's writings shows the breadth of his intellectual and political interests. His autobiography, letters, diaries and political memoranda reflect a life lived at the centre of pivotal events, including the French and American Revolutions, and the founding of a new...

Thomas Jefferson (1743 1826) was the third United States President (1801 9) and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. An advocate of republicanism, he envisioned America as an 'Empire of Liberty' that would strive to promote freedom around the world. First published in 1853 4, this nine-volume edition of Jefferson's writings shows the breadth of his intellectual and political interests. His autobiography, letters, diaries and political memoranda reflect a life lived at the centre of pivotal events, including the French and American Revolutions, and the founding of a new...

Thomas Jefferson (1743 1826) was the third United States President (1801 9) and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. An advocate of republicanism, he envisioned America as an 'Empire of Liberty' that would strive to promote freedom around the world. First published in 1853 4, this nine-volume edition of Jefferson's writings shows the breadth of his intellectual and political interests. His autobiography, letters, diaries and political memoranda reflect a life lived at the centre of pivotal events, including the French and American Revolutions, and the founding of a new...