Selected Writings of Lord Acton

Lord Acton was among the most illustrious historians of nineteenth-century England, a man of great learning with a deep devotion to individual liberty and a profound understanding of history. Liberty Fund is proud to offer the most complete collection of Acton essays ever published.

Volume I: Essays in the History of Liberty

Included are his two famous essays on the history of freedom (“The History of Freedom in Antiquity” and “The History of Freedom in Christianity”) as are writings on the tradition of liberty in England, America, and Europe.

Volume II: Essays in the Study and Writing of History

Volume II brings together Acton’s distinguished writings on history. Included is his famous Inaugural Lecture at Cambridge, “The Study of History.”

Volume III: Essays in Religion, Politics, and Morality

Included are three important essays, “Human Sacrifice,” “George Eliot’s Life,” and “Buckle’s Philosophy of History.” Nearly two hundred pages of excerpts from Acton’s remarkable letters and unpublished notes are also included.

J. Rufus Fears has taught classical history at Indiana University, Boston University, and the University of Oklahoma.