Selected Bibliography:
William Robertson

By Jeffrey Smitten,
Utah State University

Last revised 5 July 2005

Bibliography

• Jeffrey Smitten, "Bibliography of Writings about William Robertson, 1755-1996," in William Robertson and the Expansion of Empire (see below under Collections). A first attempt at a full listing of secondary sources.

Editions

• Collected Editions

  • The Works of William Robertson, 12 vols. (London: Routledge/Thoemmes Press, 1996). General editor: Richard B. Sher. The fullest edition. Reprints the last lifetime edition of each of his published works. Includes preface by Sher, chronology and selected bibliography of secondary literature by Jeffrey Smitten, and an introductory essay on Robertson as historian by Nicholas Phillipson. Vol. 12 contains all Robertson's published miscellaneous works, unpublished works transcribed from manuscript, an introduction by Jeffrey Smitten, and reprinted contemporary commentaries by Robert Liston, James Boswell, John Erskine, Dugald Stewart, and Henry Brougham.
  
  

• Individual Works

  • The Progress of Society in Europe, ed. Felix Gilbert (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1972). Text of vol. 1 of History of the Reign of Charles V with Gilbert's introduction.
  
  

• Correspondence

  There is no collected edition of Robertson's correspondence, and most of it remains in manuscript. A collected edition of the correspondence edited by Jeffrey Smitten is in progress. The items following are a very small sampling of letters to and from him that may be found in various published correspondences. This list is confined to modern editions of the correspondence of those figures with whom Robertson is most often associated. For general comments on Robertson's correspondence, see Jeffrey Smitten, "Robertson's Letters and the Life of Writing," in William Robertson and the Expansion of Empire (see under Collections below).

  • Charles E. Ronan, S. J., "Antonio de Alcedo: His Collaborators and His Letters to William Robertson," Americas 34 (1978): 490-501.
  • Jeremy Black, "The Enlightenment Historian at Work: The Researches of William Robertson," Bulletin of Hispanic Studies 65 (1988): 251-60. Robertson's correspondence with Lord Grantham concerning the History of America.
  • The Correspondence of Adam Ferguson, ed. Vincenzo Merolle, 2 vols. (London: Pickering, 1995).
  • James E. Tierney, "Unpublished Garrick Letters to Robertson and Millar," Year's Work in English Studies 5 (1975): 130-35.
  • The Letters of Edward Gibbon, ed. J. E. Norton, 3 vols. (London: Cassell, 1956).
  • The Letters of David Hume, ed. J. Y. T. Greig, 2 vols. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1932).
  • New Letters of David Hume, ed. Raymond Klibansky and Ernst C. Mossner (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1954).
  • Richard B. Sher and M. A. Stewart, "William Robertson and David Hume: Three Letters," Hume Studies: 10th Anniversary Issue (1985), pp. 69-85.
  • Dennis R. Dean, "James Hutton on Religion and Geology: The Unpublished Preface to His Theory of the Earth (1788)," Annals of Science 32 (1975): 187-93.
  • The Correspondence of Adam Smith, ed. E. C. Mossner and I. S. Ross (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1977).
  • Horace Walpole's Correspondence with ... William Robertson, ed. W. S. Lewis, C. H. Bennett, and A. G. Hoover (New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1952). Vol. 15 of the Yale edition of Walpole's correspondence.

Biographies and Memoirs

There is no comprehensive modern biography of Robertson, and the facts of his life must be pieced together from various sources. Information in the older sources is often unreliable. A new entry for Robertson is being prepared for the New Dictionary of National Biography by Jeffrey Smitten based on a fresh review of the facts of Robertson's biography.

• Henry Brougham, "Robertson," in his Lives of Men of Letters and Science Who Flourished in the Time of George III, 2 vols. (London: Knight, 1845). Available in Works, vol. 12 (see under Collected Editions above).
• Stewart J. Brown, "William Robertson (1721-1793) and the Scottish Enlightenment," in William Robertson and the Expansion of Empire (see under Collections below). A useful modern overview, especially for Robertson's ecclesiastical background.
• Charles Camic, Experience and Enlightenment: Socialization for Cultural Change in Eighteenth-Century Scotland (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1983). A sociological interpretation of Robertson's career along with those of other notable contemporaries.
• Alexander Carlyle, Anecdotes and Characters of the Times, ed. James Kinsley (London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1973). This edition includes Carlyle's comparison of the characters of Blair and Robertson.
• John Erskine, "The Agency of God in Human Greatness," in his Discourses Preached on Several Occasions, 2 vols. (Edinburgh, 1801-1804). The funeral sermon preached by Robertson's co-minister at old Greyfriars with a biographical appendix. Available in Works, vol. 12 (see under Collected Editions above).
• Robert Liston, "A Character of Dr. Robertson," London Magazine 41 (April 1772): 151-52. The earliest biographical sketch. To be read with James Boswell, "Sceptical Observations upon a Late Character of Dr. Robertson," London Magazine 41 (June 1772): 281-83. Both available in Works, vol. 12 (see under Collected Editions above).
• Jeffrey Smitten, "William Robertson," Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 104: British Prose Writers 1660-1800, ed. Donald T. Siebert (Detroit: Gale, 1990).
• Dugald Stewart, Account of the Life and Writings of William Robertson (Bristol: Thoemmes Press, 1997). Reprints 1802 edition with critical and historical introduction by Jeffrey Smitten. Still the fullest single biography of Robertson and often prefixed to nineteenth-century editions of Robertson's works. Available in Works, vol. 12 (see under Collected Editions above).

Criticism

• Collections

  • William Robertson and the Expansion of Empire, ed. Stewart J. Brown (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1997). Eleven contributions largely focused on Robertson's historical career.
  
  

• Monographs and Articles

  • Overviews of Robertson as Historian

    • J. B. Black, "Robertson," in The Art of History: A Study of Four Great Historians of the Eighteenth Century (London, 1926). Pioneering study though now largely superseded.
    • Owen Dudley Edwards, "Robertsonian Romanticism and Realism," in William Robertson and the Expansion of Empire (see under Collections above). Discusses Robertson's characteristic treatment of his historical subjects.
    • Daniele Francesconi, "William Robertson on Historical and Unintended Consequences," Cromohs 4 (1999): 1-18. Available online at http://www.unifi.it/riviste/cromohs/4_99/francesconi.htm.
    • Neil Hargraves, "The 'Progress of Ambition': Character, Narrative, and Philosophy in the Works of William Robertson," Journal of the History of Ideas 63 (2002): 261-82.
    • David B. Horn, "Principal William Robertson, D.D., Historian," University of Edinburgh Journal 18 (1956): 155-68. Thoughtful survey by a noted historian drawing on the work of Schlenke.
    • Karen O'Brien, Narratives of Enlightenment: Cosmopolitan History from Voltaire to Gibbon (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1997). Focuses on the theme of cosmopolitan history with Robertson as crucial figure. Her analysis is available in more condensed form in "Robertson's Place in the Development of Eighteenth-Century Narrative History," in William Robertson and the Expansion of Empire (see under Collections above).
    • Nicholas Phillipson, "Providence and Progress: An Introduction to the Historical Thought of William Robertson," in William Robertson and the Expansion of Empire (see under Collections above). Analyzes Robertson's handling of providence in history. A revised version of Phillipson's introduction to Works (see under Collected Editions above).
    • J. G. A. Pocock, Barbarism and Religion, 2 vols. (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1999). Volume 2, subtitled Narratives Of Civil Government, contains a section on "William Robertson and the History of Europe."
    • Manfred Schlenke, "Aus der Fruhzeit des englischen Historismus: William Robertsons Beitrag zur methodischen Grundlegung der Geschichtswissenschaft im 18. Jahrhundert," Saeculum 7 (1956): 107-25.
    • Manfred Schlenke, "Kulturgesschichte oder politische Geschichte in der Geschichtsschreibung des 18. Jahrhunderts: Wiliiam Robertson als Historiker des europäischen Staatensystem," Archiv für Kulturgeschichte 37 (1955): 60-97. Schenke's two studies, still untranslated, are important surveys of Robertson's place in the history of historical writing.
    • David J. Womersley, "The Historical Writings of William Robertson," Journal of the History of Ideas 47 (1986): 497-506. Examines Robertson's developing romanticism in handling his historical subjects.
    
    

  • History of Scotland during the Reigns of Queen Mary and of King James VI (1759)

    • J. H. S. Burleigh, "The Scottish Reformation as Seen in 1660 and in 1760," Records of the Scottish Church History Society 13 (1959): 241-56.
    • Mary Fearnley-Sander, "Philosophical History and the Scottish Reformation: William Robertson and the Knoxian Tradition," Historical Journal 33 (1990): 323-38.
    • Neil Hargraves, "National History and 'Philosophical' History: Character and Narrative in William Robertson's History of Scotland," History of European Ideas 26 (2000): 19-33.
    • Colin Kidd, "The Ideological Significance of Robertson's History of Scotland," in William Robertson and the Expansion of Empire (see under Collections above).
    • David Raynor, "Hume and Robertson's History of Scotland," British Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies 10 (1987): 59-63.
    • Jeffrey Smitten, "Robertson's History of Scotland: Narrative Structure and the Sense of Reality," Clio 11 (1981): 29-47.
    
    

  • The History of the Reign of the Emperor Charles V (1769)

    • Robert Birley, "William Robertson: The History of the Reign of Charles V," in his Sunk without Trace: Some Forgotten Masterpieces Reconsidered (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1962).
    • Richard B. Sher, "Charles V and the Book Trade: An Episode in Enlightenment Print Culture," in William Robertson and the Expansion of Empire (see under Collections above). Excellent study of how the market for the history was in good part created by booksellers.
    • Frederick G. Whelan, "Robertson, Hume, and the Balance of Power," Hume Studies 21 (1995): 315-32. Examines a key idea in Robertson's historical thought.
    
    

  • The History of America (1777)

    • Bernard Aspinwall, "William Robertson and America," in Eighteenth-Century Scotland: New Perspectives, ed. T. M. Devine and J. R. Young (East Linton: Tuckwell Press, 1999). An unfocused survey of Robertson's impact on American culture.
    • Stewart J. Brown, "An Eighteenth-Century Historian on the Amerindians: Culture, Colonialism, and Christianity in William Robertson's History of America," Studies in World Christianity 2 (Autumn 1996): 204-22.
    • Mark Duckworth, "An Eighteenth-Century Questionnaire: William Robertson on the Indians," Eighteenth-Century Life 11 (1987): 36-49. Examines Robertson's use of a questionnaire to gather historical information. For studies of specific responses to the questionnaire, see Nicholas B. Wainwright, "The Opinion of George Croghan on the American Indian," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 71 (1947): 152-59, and Milton W. Hamilton, "Guy Johnson's Opinions on the American Indians," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 77 (1953): 311-27.
    • Alexander Du Toit, "Who Are the Barbarians? Scottish Views of Conquest and Indians, and Robertson's History of America," Scottish Literary Journal 26 (1999): 29-47. Argues that Robertson's view of empire is more ambivalent than usually claimed.
    • Neil Hargraves, "Enterprise, Adventure, and Industry: The Formation of 'Commercial Character' in William Robertson's History of America," History of European Ideas 29 (2003): 33-54.  Lucid study of Robertson's handling of the stadial theory.
    • R. A. Humphreys, "William Robertson and His History of America," in his Tradition and Revolt in Latin America and Other Essays (New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 1969). General study first published in 1954.
    • Bruce P. Lenman, "'From Savage to Scot' via the French and the Spaniards: Principal Robertson's Spanish Sources," in William Robertson and the Expansion of Empire (see under Collections above).
    • Jeffrey Smitten, "Impartiality in Robertson's History of America," Eighteenth-Century Studies 19 (1985): 56-77. Examines the sources and functions of a characteristic rhetorical stance in Robertson's histories.
    
    

  • The History of America, Books IX and X (1796)

    • Jeffrey Smitten, "Moderatism and History: William Robertson's Unfinished History of British America," in Scotland and America in the Age of the Enlightenment, ed. Richard B. Sher and Jeffrey R. Smitten (Edinburgh: Edinburgh Univ. Press, 1990). Examines the reasons for Robertson's abandoning his history.
    
    

  • An Historical Disquisition concerning the Knowledge Which the Ancients Had of India (1791)

    • Geoffrey Carnall, "Robertson and Contemporary Images of India," in William Robertson and the Expansion of Empire (see under Collections above).
    • Jane Rendall, "Scottish Orientalism: From Robertson to James Mill," Historical Journal 25 (1982): 43-69.
    
    

  • Miscellaneous Writings

    In addition to his histories, Robertson published a number of miscellaneous pieces, including book reviews, a highly regarded sermon, and a memorial concerning the University of Edinburgh. He also left items in manuscript, and some of his speeches were recorded. There are no individual studies of these works. For an overview of these writings, see Jeffrey Smitten, "Introduction to Robertson's Miscellaneous Works," in Works, 12:ix-lv (see under Collected Editions above).

  • Academics

    There is no full or even extended study of Robertson's career as principal of the University of Edinburgh. The following items are thus only a starting point for further study.

    • Alexander Bower, The History of the University of Edinburgh, 3 vols. (Edinburgh, 1817-30).
    • Andrew Dalzel, History of the University of Edinburgh from Its Foundation, 2 vols. (Edinburgh, 1862).
    • Andrew G. Fraser, The Building of Old College: Adam, Playfair, and the University of Edinburgh (Edinburgh: Edinburgh Univ. Press, 1989).
    • Sir Alexander Grant, The Story of the University of Edinburgh During Its First Three Hundred Years, 2 vols. (London, 1884).
    • David Bayne Horn, A Short History of the University of Edinburgh, 1556-1889 (Edinburgh: Edinburgh Univ. Press, 1967).
    
    

  • Politics

    • Jeremy J. Cater, "The Making of Principal Robertson in 1762: Politics and the University of Edinburgh in the Second Half of the Eighteenth Century," Scottish Historical Review 49 (1970): 60-84. Study of the politics surrounding Robertson's appointment as principal of the University of Edinburgh.
    • Ian D. L. Clark, "From Protest to Reaction: The Moderate Regime in the Church of Scotland, 1752-1805," in Scotland in the Age of Improvement: Essays in Scottish History in the Eighteenth Century, ed. Nicholas Phillipson and Rosalind Mitchison (Edinburgh: Edinburgh Univ. Press, 1970). Important article drawn from Clark's Ph.D. dissertation, which is still a valuable study of the subject.
    • Alexander Du Toit, "'A Species of False Religion': William Robertson, Catholic Relief, and the Myth of Moderate Tolerance," Innes Review 52 (2001): 167-88.  Vigorous argument against the view that Robertson was a sincere supporter of Catholic relief.
    • James L. McKelvey, "William Robertson and Lord Bute," Studies in Scottish Literature 6 (1969): 238-47. Robertson's relationship with an important patron.
    • John Robertson, The Scottish Enlightenment and the Militia Issue (Edinburgh: Donald, 1985). Focused on the role of the literati in a key Scottish political issue.
    • Richard B. Sher, Church and University in the Scottish Enlightenment: The Moderate Literati of Edinburgh (Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1985). Landmark study of the political, intellectual, and social role of the Moderates. Essential reading.
    • Richard B. Sher, "Moderates, Managers and Popular Politics in Enlightened Edinburgh: The 'Drysdale Bustle' of the 1760s," in New Perspectives on the Politics and Culture of Early Modern Scotland, ed. John Dwyer et al. (Edinburgh: Donald, 1982).
    
    

  • Religious Thought and Writings

    • John R. McIntosh, Church and Theology in Enlightenment Scotland: The Popular Party, 1740-1800 (East Linton: Tuckwell Press, 1998). The only full-length study of Robertson's religious opposition.
    • Ann Matheson, Theories of Rhetoric in the 18th-Century Scottish Sermon (Lewiston: Edwin Mellen Press, 1995). Passim references to Robertson but providing useful background on the theory and practice of the Scottish sermon as Robertson would know it.
    • Richard B. Sher, "1688 and 1788: William Robertson on Revolution in Britain and France," in Culture and Revolution, ed. Paul Dukes and John Dunkley (London and New York: Pinter, 1990). Study centered on Robertson's unpublished sermon commemorating the Glorious Revolution.
    • Jeffrey Smitten, "The Shaping of Moderation: William Robertson and Arminianism," Studies in Eighteenth-Century Culture 22 (1992): 281-300. General overview of Robertson's religious outlook with attention to its Continental sources.
    
    

  • Translations and Reception Abroad

    • Laszlo Kontler, "William Robertson's History of Manners in German, 1770-1795," Journal of the History of Ideas 58 (1997): 125-144. Focuses on the translation of Charles V.
    • Laszlo Kontler, "William Robertson and His German Audience on European and Non-European Civilisations," Scottish Historical Review 80 (2001): 63-89.
    • John Renwick, "The Reception of William Robertson's Historical Writings in Eighteenth-Century France," in William Robertson and the Expansion of Empire (see under Collections above).
    • Gianfranco Tarabuzzi, "Le traduzioni italiane Settecentesche delle opere di William Robertson," Rivista storica italiana 91 (1979): 486-509.

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