Penny Dreadful Cover

This is a printed edition of political and personal correspondence, not a Victorian penny dreadful. The volume is the first of a two-volume scholarly collection of letters from Charles James Fox (1749-1806), the prominent Whig statesman and orator. Edited by Lord John Russell and compiled from materials prepared by Lord Holland, the work traces Fox's life from 1749 through his death in 1806, organized into seven chronological periods spanning from his birth through his political career in Parliament, his opposition to the American and French wars, and his coalition with Lord Grenville in 1803-1804. The correspondence emphasizes Fox's literary interests, particularly his love of Greek and Italian poetry, alongside political documentation. The volume includes biographical material about Fox's ancestors, notably Sir Stephen Fox (1627-1715), founder of the family fortune, and Henry Fox, first Lord Holland. Prefatory material by editor J.E. (Lord John Russell) outlines the editorial approach and the incomplete state of earlier biographical efforts by Lord Holland and scholar John Allen.