The Great Infidel by Roderick Graham
Library shelves groan under the weight of academic critiques of David Hume's philosophy and in-depth studies of his political economy. This book, however, is not one of those scholastic times. Rather, this is the story of the life of the famous philosopher, one of Scotland's greatest men. Through Hume's life, we are shown the Enlightenment from its roots, through its sometimes difficult growth to its flowering in eighteenth-century Edinburgh. Using original sources, some for the first time, we witness Hume's disappointment with the reception of his Treatise of Human Nature - 'it fell dead-born from the press' - although it is now seen as a pivotal work in European thinking, and follow his adventures during a farcical invasion of France. His Essays and History at last brought him the fame he had sought, but also caused the General Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland to attempt to excommunicate him. The accusation that Hume was an atheist is disproved while, more light-heartedly, his time as a diplomat shows him at the heart of the gossip of pre-Revolutionary Paris, where he was 'Le Bon David'. Back in Edinburgh, James Boswell nicknamed him 'The Great Infidel' yet, like everyone else, sought invitations to Hume's well-stocked table and wine cellar. Hume never married, although he was always a favourite with the ladies for whist and conversation, and he was involved in a preposterous courtship in Turin. He also had a lengthy intellectual involvement with a married aristocrat who was already another man's mistress.
'a tremendous, sometimes mischievous piece of work' - The Herald 'fine and sensitive, rather than dry and academic, it is a fitting tribute to one of Scotland's greatest men' - The Daily Mail
Roderick Graham, educated in Edinburgh, has had a distinguished career in broadcasting as a writer, TV director and producer. He has won two Emmy awards and a Celtic Film Festival prize. He is the author of John Knox: Democrat, and of numerous radio plays and biographies.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781841585208 |
| ISBN 10 | 1841585203 |
| Title | The Great Infidel |
| Author | Roderick Graham |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Birlinn General |
| Year published | 2006-07-12 |
| Number of pages | 432 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |