John Wilkes
eBook - PDF

John Wilkes

The Scandalous Father of Civil Liberty

  1. 496 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

John Wilkes

The Scandalous Father of Civil Liberty

About this book

One of the most colorful figures in English political history, John Wilkes (1726-97) is remembered as the father of the British free press, defender of civil and political liberties, and hero to American colonists, who attended closely to his outspoken endorsements of liberty. Wilkes's political career was rancorous, involving duels, imprisonments in the Tower of London, and the Massacre of St. George's Fields in which seven of his supporters were shot to death by government troops. He was equally famous for his "private" life-a confessed libertine, a member of the notorious Hellfire Club, and the author of what has been called the dirtiest poem in the English language.

This lively biography draws a full portrait of John Wilkes from his childhood days through his heyday as a journalist and agitator, his defiance of government prosecutions for libel and obscenity, his fight against exclusion from Parliament, and his service as lord mayor of London on the eve of the American Revolution. Told here with the force and immediacy of a firsthand newspaper account, Wilkes's own remarkable story is inseparable from the larger story of modern civil liberties and how they came to fruition.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
No, books cannot be downloaded as external files, such as PDFs, for use outside of Perlego. However, you can download books within the Perlego app for offline reading on mobile or tablet. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
  • Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
  • Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Both plans are available with monthly, semester, or annual billing cycles.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access John Wilkes by Arthur Cash in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Historical Biographies. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Table of contents

  1. Contents
  2. A Preemptive Glossary
  3. Prologue
  4. 1. The Making of a Gentleman
  5. 2. The Squire of Aylesbury
  6. 3. Into Parliament
  7. 4. The North Briton
  8. 5. Number 45
  9. 6. The Great George Street Printing Shop
  10. 7. Trials and a Trial of Honor
  11. 8. Exile
  12. 9. The Middlesex Election Controversy
  13. 10. Incapacitation
  14. 11. The City of London
  15. 12. My Lord Mayor
  16. 13. Poverty, Paternity, and Parliamentary Reform
  17. 14. Chamberlain
  18. Epilogue
  19. An Afterword
  20. Notes
  21. Sources
  22. Index