Life of William Robertson

The first modern biography of William Robertson, a key figure of the Scottish EnlightenmentA prominent figure in the Scottish Enlightenment, William Robertson differed from his contemporaries, such as Voltaire, Hume and Gibbon, because he used the critical tools of the Enlightenment to strengthen religion, not to attack it. As an historian, he helped shape 18th-century historiography. As a minister of the Church of Scotland, he sought to make the church fit for a polite age. And, as principal of the University of Edinburgh, he presided over a flourishing of intellectual inquiry in the midst of the Enlightenment. But despite his European fame, he was a controversial figure. Drawing extensively on his unpublished correspondence, Jeffrey Smitten captures both the man and his work in his own words. By foregrounding Robertson's religious outlook, Smitten gives us a more contextualised and nuanced interpretation of Robertson's motives, intentions and beliefs than we have had before.Key Features:Includes new biographical information drawn from archival sources and from all Robertson's largely unpublished correspondenceDiscusses Robertson's works, published and unpublishedAssesses Robertson's achievement based on fresh consideration of all facets of his career as minister, historian and principal

A new and reliable study of Robertson's life has long been needed and Smitten's work amply answers that desideratum. It will be of interest to all scholars and students of eighteenth-century history, Scottish historiography, and religious history...--Kelsey Jackson Williams "Innes Review"

Jeffrey R. Smitten, Professor Emeritus of English at Utah State University, has published a number of articles on William Robertson and edited Dugald Stewart's biography of Robertson. With Richard B. Sher, he co-edited Scotland and America in the Age of the Enlightenment (1990) and, with Sher and Nicholas Phillipson, an edition of Robertson's Works. He has also served as Executive Secretary of the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies.