Basil Montagu (1770-1851), was an illegitimate son of the 4th Earl of Sandwich. Throughout his life he was dogged by financial difficulties, but the prodigious energy and fierce intelligence inherited from his father enabled him to overcome these and
many other vicissitudes. His childhood was blighted by the murder of his mother just before his ninth birthday, but at the
age of sixteen he went up to Cambridge. Despite personal troubles, he finally excelled, was called to the Bar and went on to establish a distinguished legal career, becoming the first Accountant General in Bankruptcy, a position he held until the advanced age of 76. As a Reformer, he worked tirelessly and successfully to reduce the numbers of non-violent crimes carrying the death penalty and to bring about much needed change in the bankruptcy laws. He was a man of great benevolence who, as Carlyle said, `wished all the world well’.
Wishing the World Well presents Basil Montagu not simply as a lawyer and Reformer working for a more just society, nor merely as a writer and philosopher. Also explored are his long life as son, brother, father and husband, and as loyal friend and colleague to a host of influential eighteenth-and-nineteenth-century men and women who were part of his extensive social world.
At the renowned soirées he held at his London home in Bedford Square with his third wife, he entertained writers, poets, politicians, philanthropists, philosophers, polemicists and theatre people, including Wordsworth, Coleridge, Hazlitt, Fanny Burney, Carlyle and Sir Walter Scott. He was a remarkable man who well deserves this book devoted to his lasting achievements and to the
many facets of his life and career.
- ISBN13 9781785452413
- Publish Date 15 February 2018
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Brown Dog Books
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 360
- Language English