The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, in Six Volumes (Everyman's Library)

Complete in six hardcover volumes. Introduction by Hugh Trevor-Roper. Easily the most famous historical chronicle in English, Gibbon's account of Roman decline remains a remarkably fresh and vital contribution to the subject more than two centuries after its first publication. A landmark in its time for classical and historiographical scholarship, its fame today, however, rests more on the scope and force of Gibbon's argument and the brilliance of his style, which is still an utter delight to read. But above all, the book is a superb monument to the Enlightenment ideal of rational enquiry which Gibbon made the object of his life's work. "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire was written by English historian Edward Gibbon and published in six volumes. Volume I was published in 1776, and went through six printings. Volumes II and III were published in 1781; volumes IV, V, VI in 1788 - 89. The original volumes were published in quarto sections, a common publishing practice of the time. It stands as a major literary achievement of the 18th century because it was adopted as a model for the methodologies of modern historians. This led to Gibbon being called the first modern historian of Ancient Rome."