author
Wilbur Cortez Abbott
1869–1947
A leading American historian of the early modern world, he was especially known for writing about seventeenth-century Europe and for his long academic career at Yale and Harvard. His work helped bring diplomatic and political history to a wide English-speaking audience.
1 Audiobook
Colonel Thomas Blood, Crown-stealer, 1618-1680
by Wilbur Cortez Abbott
About the author
Born in Kokomo, Indiana, in 1869, Wilbur Cortez Abbott studied at Wabash College, did graduate work at Cornell, and later earned a B.Litt. at Oxford. He went on to become a respected historian and teacher, with appointments that included the University of Kansas, Yale, and Harvard.
Abbott is best remembered for his studies of early modern Europe, particularly the age of Louis XIV and the growth of European power politics. He also edited major historical documents, including the writings of John Adams, showing the range of his interests from European affairs to American history.
His books are often clear, learned, and grounded in traditional narrative history, making them useful for listeners who enjoy careful storytelling as much as scholarship. Abbott died in 1947, leaving behind a body of work that reflects the historical writing of his era at its most ambitious.