Description

Bestselling historian Peter Moore traces how Enlightenment ideas were exported from Britain and put into practice in America – where they became the most successful export of all time, the American Dream

‘Absorbing… fascinating… eloquent’ THE TIMES
‘Engaging and thoroughly reader-friendly’ TELEGRAPH
‘Wonderfully absorbing and stimulating’ SARAH BAKEWELL

Enlightenment Britain was ablaze with ambition and energy. Great writers like Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, Samuel Johnson, John Wilkes and Catharine Macaulay were part of a pioneering generation that shaped and inspired the American Dream. For the first time, bestselling historian Peter Moore vividly traces the transatlantic friendships and revolutionary ideas that inspired the Declaration of Independence.

‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness’ is the best-known phrase from that document, which was drafted by Thomas Jefferson in the summer of 1776. Today this line is evoked as a shorthand for that ideal we call the American Dream. But the vision it encapsulates – of a free and happy world – has its roots in Great Britain.

This book tells the story of the years that preceded the Declaration. From the accession of King George III to the astonishing tale of John Wilkes, from the notorious Stamp Act to the Boston Tea Party, it shows how Britain and her American Colonies broke apart. Following a star cast of Enlightenment characters, through their letters, arguments and rivalries, it reveals the rise of a rebellious and daring ideology – one that gave rise to the democratic birth of the United States and the principles we live by to this day.

‘Deft insights and in clear prose’ ALAN TAYLOR
‘A gripping account’ STELLA TILLYARD
‘Rollicking…compulsive readability’ WASHINGTON POST
‘A great read’ LADY HALE

Publisher Review

Moore offers a rich and immersive intellectual history of the American Revolution... This is a pleasure * Publisher's Weekly (starred review) * Like Jenny Uglow's The Lunar Men and Leo Damrosch's The Club, Moore's vibrant group biography brings to life the intellectual and political currents, in Britain and Colonial America, that gave rise to the phrase "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,"... An energetic and meticulously researched history * Kirkus (starred review) * A timely reminder that the origins of the three big ideas in the American Dream lay mainly in Great Britain, with a lively account of the principal actors and episodes in the developing drama, and Benjamin Franklin in the starring role: a great read * LADY HALE * With deft insights and in clear prose, Moore restores the cosmopolitan origins of an American Revolution meant to liberate human potential. In this eloquent book, that revolution becomes more global and enduring and less parochial and limited * ALAN TAYLOR, Pulitzer Prize winning author of American Revolutions * Building on the pioneering work of Bernard Bailyn and John Brewer, Peter Moore offers a gripping account of the way in which British pamphlet wars of the 1760s fuelled American debates about independence. Mixing famous Founders with lesser known figures, especially Franklin's long-time friend the Tory printer and publisher William Strahan, Moore's book brings out the hidden roots of the Declaration of Independence * STELLA TILLYARD, author of The Great Level * The vivid descriptions of people, modes of communication, and social life are fascinating and give this well-researched history the readability of fiction * Booklist (starred review) * With flair and insight, Peter Moore takes one of the most famous and deceptively simple lines in history - a line that founded a nation and changed the world. He digs into it, to unearth a wealth of unexpected influences and connections, a trove of gripping stories, and a vibrant company of characters. A wonderfully absorbing and stimulating book * SARAH BAKEWELL, author of At The Existentialist Cafe * What a scintillating read. Atmospheric yet analytical, well-paced yet deeply probing, Moore's book delivers striking new perspectives with the stylistic grace of the Founding Fathers. I loved it * DAISY DUNN, author of Not Far From Brideshead * The British empire of the eighteenth century blazed with the world-changing ideas and projects of thinkers and writers... Peter Moore captures this intellectual ferment in a fascinating narrative * ROBERT A. GROSS, author of The Minutemen and Their World * In bringing five participants vividly to life, Moore gives us a warmly human account of the birth of American democracy. How pleasing that deep scholarship can be so enjoyable and thought-awaking * MARTIN LATHAM, author of The Bookseller's Tale *