Historical Memoirs of my Own Time

Sir Nathanial William Wraxall (1751-1831), traveller and writer, served as an MP from 1780 to 1794 and was made a baronet in 1813. Upon publication in 1815, his memoirs were an immediate, though controversial, success: 1,000 copies sold out within five weeks. Accused of libelling a Russian diplomat, and found guilty, Wraxall brought out this second edition later that same year, with the offending passages removed. Volume 1 covers 1772-81, a period of extensive travel, which took him across several European countries, including Portugal, France, Germany and Italy, returning to London in 1780. The volume also contains the start of the work’s controversial second part, which deals with the beginning of Wraxall’s parliamentary career under Lord North’s administration. The memoirs make for an entertaining read, and few from the distinguished circles in which the author moved are spared from his merciless facility for description.