Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-59) was one of the foremost nineteenth-century historians in the Whig tradition, which saw history as a series of developments towards enlightenment and democracy. He believed that the 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688 had preserved England from the constitutional upheavals suffered by much of Europe in 1848. Using a wider range of sources, including popular literature, than was then usual, and written in an accessible, novelistic rather than academic style, this five-volume work proved hugely influential upon contemporary historians and phenomenally successful with the public, although it was not without its critics. Volume 5 was unfinished at the author's death; the text was edited by Macaulay's sister, Lady Trevelyan, and published in 1861. It covers the period from 1697 until 1702, and includes a description of the death, in 1702, of William, regarded by Lady Trevelyan as her brother's hero.
