Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland, from the Dissolution of the last Parliament of Charles II until the Sea-battle off La Hogue

A handsome set in a contemporary binding of this history of Great Britain and Ireland in the seventeenth century. The work caused a mild sensation when it was published because of Dalrymple's unvarnished use of letters from the French ambassadors in England to their courts, as well as the correspondence of Charles II, James II, William, and Mary.

Sir John Dalrymple (1726-1810), fourth baronet of Cranstoun was educated at the university of Edinburgh and Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1748 he was admitted to the Scottish bar, and succeeded to the baronetcy in 1771 on the death of his father Sir William Dalrymple. A reasonably prolific essayist, the Memoirs was his most significant work; illustrated by access to state papers in France and England, the work caused a stir, particularly because of its relevations regarding the personal motives behind the actions of many eminent statesmen. David Hume was not confident about the work's value as political history, but could not resist its insights into 'the biographical and anecdotal history of the times' (quoted in DNB).

A continuation volume was published in 1788 and the whole work appeared in a second, revised edition published in 1790.