THE CONSTITUTION OF ENGLAND; OR, AN ACCOUNT OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT; IN WHICH IT IS COMPARED BOTH WITH THE REPUBLICAN FORM OF GOVERNMENT, AND THE OTHER MONARCHIES IN EUROPE
1821 · London
by De Lolme, Jean Louis
London, 1821. [2],xvi,518,[16]pp. plus frontispiece portrait. Contemporary calf, gilt, leather label. Extremities lightly worn, spine rubbed. Modern bookplate on front pastedown, later ownership inscription on flyleaf. Very minor scattered foxing, but generally quite clean and fresh internally. Very good. "A new edition." A later edition of this important work on the British Constitution and system of government written by Swiss- born Jean Louis De Lolme, first published in French in 1771 and later appearing in English in 1775. De Lolme became involved in local politics in Geneva, which sparked a lifelong interest in politics and governance. "De Lolme now began a lifetime's study of the British government. His interest in this subject was stimulated, he later claimed, by the peculiarity of the system and by his earlier political experiences, which had given him 'insight into the first real principles of governments'. His views were heavily influenced by Montesquieu, whose writing he had encountered in Geneva. In 1769 he began work on a major study of the British constitution that aimed to show the benefits of a balanced constitution, and claimed to have identified in British government the practical means by which freedom could be reconciled with political stability. He praised the jury system in particular, and admired the way in which monarchical authority had been effectively and beneficially limited by the settlement of 1688" - DNB. His work was very successful and went through many editions (Inventory #: WRCAM44961)