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An Utterly Incomplete Look at Research from 1825
A persistent theme throughout the 1820s is the tension between Enlightenment ideals and conservative reaction. The books and articles discussed below capture various facets of this conflict. William Hazlitt’s collection of essays examines intellectuals from the turn of the century, many of whom became swept up in the Romantic movement and adopted illiberal views. J. C. L. de Sismondi’s survey characterizes international relations in the first quarter of the nineteenth century as a struggle between the forces of liberty and tyranny and is optimistic for the former. Liberal ideas were advancing steadily in education, as seen in Henry Brougham’s pamphlet on Mechanics’ Institutes and adult education and the plans to found additional universities in England outside of Oxford and Cambridge.
This book critiques England’s method of funding its wars in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries through bond issuance, which Ravenstone alleges is both wasteful and to the benefit of the wealthy at the expense of the masses. The book is written in short sections loosely divided into themes, mixing technical discussions of the author’s theory of food chemistry with recipes and tales from his eventful life. While some may view life insurance as a bit of a morbid topic, Gompertz doubles down on the macabre by describing his model of the mortality rate as “a deterioration, or an increased inability to withstand destruction”.
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