author
Charles James Fox
1749–1806
A brilliant and controversial voice in British politics, he spent nearly four decades in Parliament defending civil liberties, religious tolerance, and a less punitive approach to empire. His fierce rivalry with William Pitt the Younger helped define public life in late 18th-century Britain.
1 Audiobook
A History of the Early Part of the Reign of James the Second
by Charles James Fox
About the author
Born in Westminster on 24 January 1749, Charles James Fox became one of the best-known Whig politicians of his age. He entered Parliament while still very young and built a reputation as an electrifying speaker, a determined opponent of King George III’s influence, and a leading critic of the policies of William Pitt the Younger.
Fox was admired for his support of causes that later came to seem strikingly modern, including religious toleration, parliamentary reform, and the abolition of the slave trade. He also argued against Britain’s coercive policy toward the American colonies and later served as foreign secretary, though his career was marked as much by long years in opposition as by time in office.
His private life and gambling debts made him a controversial figure, but they did little to dim his public fame. He died on 13 September 1806, remembered as one of the great parliamentary orators of Britain and as a statesman whose ideals of liberty kept his name alive long after his political defeats.