A Publisher and His Friends / Memoir and Correspondence of John Murray; with an Account of the Origin and Progress of the House, 1768-1843

by Samuel Smiles

CHAPTER XXVII

NAPIER'S "PENINSULAR WAR"—CROKER'S "BOSWELL"—"THE FAMILY LIBRARY" ETC.

Napier's "History of the Peninsular War"—Origin of the work—Col. Napier's correspondence with Murray—Publication of Vol. I.—Controversy aroused by it—Murray ceases to publish the work—His letter to the Morning Chronicle—The Duke of Wellington's Despatches—Croker's edition of "Boswell's Johnson"—Correspondence with Croker, Lockhart, etc.—Publication of the book—Its value—Letter from Mrs. Shelley—Mr. Henry Taylor's "Isaac Comnenus"—"Philip van Artevelde"—"The Family Library" and the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge—The progress of "The Family Library"—Milman's "History of the Jews"—Controversy aroused by it—Opinion of the Jews