Lord Chesterfield – författare

`My object is to have you fit to live; which, if you are not, I do not desire that you should live at all.'So wrote Lord Chesterfield in one of the most celebrated and controversial correspondences between a father and son. Chesterfield wrote almost daily to his natural son, Philip, from 1737 onwards, providing him with instruction in etiquette and the worldly arts.Praised in their day as a complete manual of education, and despised by Samuel Johnson for teaching `the morals of a whore and the manners of a dancing-master', these letters reflect the political craft of a leading statesman and the urbane wit of a man who associated with Pope, Addison, and Swift. The letters reveal Chesterfield's political cynicism and his belief that his country had `always been goverened by the only two or three people, out of two or three millions, totally incapable of governing', as well as his views on good breeding. Not originally intended for publication, this entertaining correspondence illuminates fascinating aspects of eighteenth-century life and manners. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Some Unpublished Letters of Lord Chesterfield brings to light twenty-six previously unknown letters of the fourth Earl, written largely during the final months of his life. Preserved in handsome quarto volumes once belonging to the Earl of Carnarvon and now in private hands, these letters, ten in Chesterfield’s own script and the remainder dictated to his trusted valet James Walsh, provide rare insights into his last years. They reveal a mind undimmed by illness or age—sharp, trenchant, and characteristically unsentimental—continuing to offer witty judgments on men and events. Several letters are enriched by Walsh’s postscripts, reflecting both the intimacy of his service and Chesterfield’s reliance upon him when deafness and infirmity curtailed his activities. The collection is further augmented by three manuscript drafts outlining Chesterfield’s evolving educational program for his godson and heir, which culminated in the long French letter of instruction to Georges Deyverdun, Edward Gibbon’s friend and the chosen governor of the young Philip Stanhope.The letters deepen our understanding of Chesterfield not by altering his established image but by filling in its contours. They show him skeptical of fashionable charlatans such as Dr. William Dodd, yet resigned to the limits of his ward’s promise. They also document his persistent distrust of Italy as a site for moral training, his preference for Geneva or Leipzig as centers of study, and his concern that the governor guide without smothering the youth. Alongside these specific plans, the letters continue to sparkle with the stylistic brilliance that made Chesterfield’s Letters to His Son a classic, combining worldly counsel with ironic candor. Edited with attention to textual fidelity—Walsh’s eccentric spellings normalized but Chesterfield’s holographs preserved—the volume offers both scholars and general readers a vivid supplement to the well-known corpus, providing a last glimpse of a statesman-philosopher facing decline with wit, realism, and dignity.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1937.

Some Unpublished Letters of Lord Chesterfield brings to light twenty-six previously unknown letters of the fourth Earl, written largely during the final months of his life. Preserved in handsome quarto volumes once belonging to the Earl of Carnarvon and now in private hands, these letters, ten in Chesterfield’s own script and the remainder dictated to his trusted valet James Walsh, provide rare insights into his last years. They reveal a mind undimmed by illness or age—sharp, trenchant, and characteristically unsentimental—continuing to offer witty judgments on men and events. Several letters are enriched by Walsh’s postscripts, reflecting both the intimacy of his service and Chesterfield’s reliance upon him when deafness and infirmity curtailed his activities. The collection is further augmented by three manuscript drafts outlining Chesterfield’s evolving educational program for his godson and heir, which culminated in the long French letter of instruction to Georges Deyverdun, Edward Gibbon’s friend and the chosen governor of the young Philip Stanhope.The letters deepen our understanding of Chesterfield not by altering his established image but by filling in its contours. They show him skeptical of fashionable charlatans such as Dr. William Dodd, yet resigned to the limits of his ward’s promise. They also document his persistent distrust of Italy as a site for moral training, his preference for Geneva or Leipzig as centers of study, and his concern that the governor guide without smothering the youth. Alongside these specific plans, the letters continue to sparkle with the stylistic brilliance that made Chesterfield’s Letters to His Son a classic, combining worldly counsel with ironic candor. Edited with attention to textual fidelity—Walsh’s eccentric spellings normalized but Chesterfield’s holographs preserved—the volume offers both scholars and general readers a vivid supplement to the well-known corpus, providing a last glimpse of a statesman-philosopher facing decline with wit, realism, and dignity.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1937.