The Life of William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland: by Andrew Henderson

This is the first reset edition of Henderson's The Life of William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (1766). Andrew Henderson (1717-79) was a noted writer and bookseller in his day. Born in Roxburgh, he travelled extensively in Scotland as tutor to the families of the Countess of Stair and Colonel Young, Lord Stair's aide de camp before settling in London. He is now best remembered for his accounts of the 1745 rebellion which he witnessed first hand. Henderson was a lifelong Whig and this favourable account of Cumberland's actions during the 1745 rebellion brought him in to conflict with Tobias Smollett (1721-71). No stranger to controversy, Henderson wrote two open letters to Samuel Johnson in response to his A Journey to The Western Islands of Scotland (1775), criticizing Johnson's account of Scotland and the Scottish character as well as taking another side-swipe at Smollet. These too are included in this volume together with a new introduction to Henderson and his works. This title is published as a Roxburghe Club edition. This work will be of interest to those studying Scottish History, the Jacobite Rebellions, Eighteenth Century Studies, Samuel Johnson and Tobias Smollett.