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"The manuscripts of Col. William Byrd, of Westover ..., of different dates from 1728 to 1736, are contained in a large folio volume bound in parchment, which has been carefully preserved in his family, until recently placed in the hands of the editor ... The manuscripts offer abundant internal evidence that they were written merely for the amusement of the author, and for the perusal of his family and friends, and not with any view to their being printed"--Page iii
After his 1728 Virginia-North Carolina boundary expedition, Virginia planter and politician William Byrd II composed two very different accounts of his adventures. The Secret History of the Line was written for private circulation, offering tales of scandalous behavior and political misconduct, peppered with rakish humor and personal satire. The History of the Dividing Line, continually revised by Byrd for decades after the expedition, was intended for the London literary market, though not published in his lifetime. Collating all extant manuscripts, Kevin Joel Berland's landmark scholarly edition of these two histories provides wide-ranging historical and cultural contexts for both, helping to recreate the social and intellectual ethos of Byrd and his time. Byrd enriched his narratives with material appropriated from earlier authors, many of whose works were in his library--the most extensive in the American colonies. Berland identifies for the first time many of Byrd's sources and raises the question: how reliable are histories that build silently upon antecedent texts and present borrowed material as firsthand testimony? In his analysis, Berland demonstrates the need for a new category to assess early modern history writing: the hybrid, accretional narrative.
Excerpt from The Westover Manuscripts: Containing the History of the Dividing Line Betwixt Virginia and North Carolina; A Journey to the Land of Eden, A. D. 1733; And a Progress to the Mines, Written From 1728 to 1736, and Now First Published Col. William Byrd died where he had long lived, at his then beautifully decorated and princely mansion, Westover, on the north bank of James river; and which even at this late day exhibits admirable remains of his taste, and his magnificent scale of expenditure for its gratification. His body was buried in the garden, and his grave is covered by a monument of white marble, on which is the following inscription: [On The North Side.] Here lieth The Honorable William Byrd, Esq., Being born to one of the amplest fortunes in this country, He was sent early to England for his education; Where, under the care and direction of Sir Robert Southwell, And ever favoured with his particular instructions, He made a happy proficiency in polite and various learning. By the means of the same noble friend, He was introduced to the acquaintance of many of the first persons of that age For knowledge, wit, virtue, birth, or high station, And particularly contracted a most intimate and bosom friendship With the learned and illustrious Charles Boyle, Earl of Orrery. He was called to the bar in the Middle Temple, Studied for some time in the Low Countries, Visited the court of France, And was chosen Fellow of the Royal Society. [On The South Side.] Thus eminently fitted for the service and ornament of his country, He was made receiver general of his majesty's revenues here, Was thrice appointed public agent to the court and ministry of England, And being thirty-seven years a member, At last became president of the council of this colony. To all this were added a great elegancy of taste and life, The well-bred gentleman and polite companion, The splendid economist and prudent father of a family, With the constant enemy of all exorbitant power, And hearty friend to the liberties of his country. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.