Cambridge Library Collection - British & Irish History, 17th & 18th Centuries
1 primary work • 2 total works
Volume 2
Since publication in 1826, Theobald Wolfe Tone's two-volume autobiography, edited by his son William T.W. Tone, has been regarded by historians as an indispensable source for the history of the 1790s in both Ireland and France. Although there have been a number of abridged versions of the "Life", the full text has never been republished. This unabridged editon of Theobald Wolfe Tone's autobiography includes the text of the 1826 edition and restores excisions that the Tone family, for reasons of primness and prudence, made to the original manuscript. Besides the autobiography and diaries, the "Life" includes Tone's political writings and letters, and William Tone's account of his father's trial, among other elements.
Theobald Wolfe Tone (1763-98) is remembered as a firebrand revolutionary who was the founding father of Irish nationalism, and who committed suicide on the eve of his planned execution in Dublin for treason. This two-volume autobiography, completed after his death by his son, was published in Washington in 1826. It contains accounts of his adventurous life and his key role in the foundation of the Society of United Irishmen in 1791, as well as extracts from his journals, letters, and political works. Volume 1 describes his life up to the point at which he travelled from America to France and joined the French army; Volume 2 describes his activities in France, including his plans for the liberation of Ireland by a French invasion, and his capture, trial and death. An appendix written by his wife and son gives the subsequent story of his family from 1798 to 1816.