Bruce, Philip Alexander.—Economic History of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century. Two volumes. Printed by the Macmillan Company, New York. This work treats of aboriginal Virginia, of the agricultural development after the coming of the English, the acquisition of title to land, the system of labor, the domestic economy of the planters, the part played by manufactures in the colony, the inconvenience occasioned by the scarcity of coin. The author has expended much labor in accumulating a mass of interesting and valuable detail, and the work is a veritable store house of information which is invaluable to the historian. There is no attempt made to point out the relation of the economic history of the time with the political, religious or social developments that were taking place in the 17th century. The work is valuable chiefly as a source book.
Social Life of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century. One volume. Printed for the author by Whittet and Shepperson, Richmond, Va. In the first portion of this book the author attempts to explain in some detail the origin of the higher planters in the colony. A startling array of individual cases are cited to prove the connection of at least a portion of this class with English families of education and rank. As usual with the author little attention is paid to generalizations and he arrives at his conclusions by induction rather than by deduction. Interesting chapters are devoted to social distinctions, social spirit, popular diversions, public and private occasions and duelling.
Burke, John.—The History of Virginia from its First Settlement to the Present Day. Four volumes. Published in 1804. The chief value of this work lies in the fact that it contains a number of documents of great interest to the historian. Chief among these is a series of papers relating to the dispute over the Arlington, Culpeper grant. As a general history of Virginia the work is antiquated. At the time Burke wrote a large part of the documents and pamphlets relating to the colony were inaccessible, and as a result he is compelled to pass over very important periods with the most cursory mention.
Burnaby, Andrew.—Travels through the Middle Settlements in North America in the Years 1759 and 1760; with Observations upon the State of the Colonies. Printed for T. Payne, at the Mews-Gate, London, 1798. One volume. Burnaby's criticisms of Virginia society are less accurate than those of others who have written on the same subject because his stay in the colony was so brief. He is by no means sympathetic with the life of the colony, chiefly because he does not understand it.
Byrd, William.—The Writings of "Col. William Byrd of Westover in Virginia Esq." Edited by John Spencer Bassett. One volume. Doubleday, Page and Company, New York, 1901. Col. Byrd gives an interesting picture in this work of the life upon the frontier of the colony in the first quarter of the 18th century. The style is flowing and easy, and the author shows a literary talent unusual in colonial writers. The Introduction by the editor consists of a sketch of the Byrd family. This is ably written, and the observations made upon Virginia politics and life show keen insight into the unique conditions that were moulding the character of the colony. It is, perhaps, a more valuable contribution to Virginia history than the writings which it introduces.
Campbell, Charles.—History of the Colony and Ancient Dominion of Virginia. One volume. J.B. Lippincott and Company, Philadelphia, 1860. In his preface the author says: "Her (Virginia's) documentary history, lying, much of it, scattered and fragmentary, in part slumbering in the dusty oblivion of Trans-Atlantic archives, ought to be collected with pious care, and embalmed in the perpetuity of print." The partial accomplishment of this task, so urgently advocated by the author, has rendered his work incomplete and insufficient for the present day. Upon numerous periods of Virginia history barely touched by him, a great light has since been thrown by the unearthing of manuscripts and pamphlets.
Chastellux, E.J.—Voyages dans l'Amérique Septentrionale. Chez Prault, Imprimeur du Roi, Paris, 1786. Two volumes. Chastellux was a Frenchman who visited various parts of America at the time of the Revolution. His observations upon social life in Virginia are less prejudiced than those of many of the foreign visitors to the colony at this period. The work is valuable in that it gives the impressions made by the higher class in Virginia upon one used to the refined life of France in the second half of the 18th century.
Cooke, John Esten.—Virginia, a History of the People. Houghton, Mifflin and Company, Boston, 1884. One volume. So many valuable documents and pamphlets treating of Virginia history have been made accessible since this work was published, that it is quite antiquated. In addition, the author has failed to make the best use of the material at his hands, and there are numberless errors for which there can be no excuse. One wonders, when reading the book, whether the author has ever taken the trouble to glance at Hening's Statutes, for he repeats old mistakes that were pointed out by Hening one hundred years ago. The style is entertaining and has given to the work a popularity out of proportion to its historical worth.
Dinwiddie, Robert.—The Official Records of Robert Dinwiddie. Introduction and notes by R.A. Brock. Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, Va., 1883. Two volumes. A large number of manuscripts of various kinds relating to the administration of Dinwiddie have been printed for the first time in this work. Great light is thrown upon Braddock's disasterous expedition and other important events of the French and Indian War. Dinwiddie's account of the obstinacy and unreasonable conduct of the burgesses should be studied in conjunction with the journals of the House which have recently been published.
Fiske, John.—Old Virginia and her Neighbors. Two volumes. Houghton, Mifflin and Company, Boston and New York, 1897. This work is written in the delightful and entertaining style so characteristic of the author, and like Macaulay's History of England holds the interest of the reader from beginning to end. Only a portion of the colonial period is covered, and this in a general and hap-hazard way. The narrative is not equally sustained throughout, some periods being dwelt upon in much detail, and others, equally important, passed over with but cursory mention. Fiske did not have access to many of the sources of Virginia history, and this led him into repeating some old errors.