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"Behind this study lie two questions. Why is Bolingbroke, known primarily as a rationalist philosopher of the Enlightenment, so worshipped by English conservatives who are themselves, since Burke, so set against what the Enlightenment represents in political, social, and religious thought? The second question relates to Bolingbroke's public life. How does one explain the intense animosity between Bolingbroke and Walpole which provides the energy for English political life between 1725 and 1740? Is it mere vindictiveness, ambition, jealousy, or the inevitable reflex of the 'outsider' against the 'insider'? Or is it, as the late Victorian writers thought, their falling out at Eton which forever fated them to be protagonists?"—from the Preface.
This text is essentially a monograph, since a definitive work on the subject must await publication (already in hand) of Bolingbroke's complete correspondence. First, the reader is taken briefly through the different periods of Bolingbroke's life where his francophilic interests and activities are stressed. For example, attention is paid to his early training, his various visits to France, his involvement in European philosophical, historical and political movements, his relationships with French personalities including Voltaire, and his exile and death in France. Second, there is a detailed analysis of his philosophical, historical and political ideas with an attempt to assess his debt to France and his impact on French writers. The monograph concludes with a sample of critical opinion on both sides of the Channel from Bolingbroke's death to the present day, supporting the theory that he continues to have a substantial impact on European thought. Full notes, a detailed bibliography and an index of persons complete the study.