Macaulay’s History of England and the Dilemmas of Liberal Epic

Abstract

Surveys Macaulay’s early ambitions and demonstrates how he fulfilled them in his work, especially the History. Explains how that document is his attempt to recast neoclassical epic narrative for a modern liberal readership, and how he intended the work to challenge the growing dominance of the novel. Pays special attention to Chapter 12 of the History, a chapter that typifies the basic unit of Macaulay’s narrative art.