This short essay is unquestionably a major contribution to Paine studies, though likely on the controversial side in that it casts Paine in a role few of his admirers would have thought possible, for it is the belief of the author that Paine was ‘an undercover agent’ for George III.
BOOK REVIEW: Thomas Paine: The Case Of The King Of England And His Officers Of Excise Read Post »
This pamphlet makes a stimulating and informative read. Harney is known to have held Paine’s memory in high regard and may even have been one of the Chartists who influenced the movement to reprint and publish their own edition of Rights of Man.
BOOK REVIEW: Deptford’s Red Republican, George Julian Harney Read Post »
Although Thomas Paine is best known for his role as a revolutionary, political and social reformer and biblical critic, like many of his circle of friends and acquaintances he had a passionate interest in science, or, as it was then termed, natural philosophy.
Moncure Daniel Conway is owed a debt by all those who admire Thomas Paine, for it was Conway who first put him on the biographical map by compiling a comprehensive biography which at one stroke made all previous works of a similar character.
The author acknowledges Burke to have been a ‘great man’ but one who was ‘scarcely rational about human rights’, who resorts to sneering when he fails to have better of an argument. ‘This man’ concludes the author, ‘must have had a large mental block’.
BOOK REVIEW: Debate Aborted. Burke, Priestley, Paine And The Revolution In France Read Post »
This is unquestionably an excellent biography of the great radical, but it is far from being the definitive biography. In fact I do not think the author had in mind writing such a biography, rather it is, as its name indicates, a book which lays emphasis on Paine’s political ideas and influence.
It is not my attention to review the poetry, this has been around for many years and Thomas Paine has been commented upon by many others, rather it is to commend this book to TPS members who will find much in it of Paine interest.
Paine, Scripture, and Authority is an important work, particularly as it is the first book for many years to focus on The Age of Reason. Yet for all its value it pays too much attention to what the authors see as Paine’s personal motivation
Although today many eminent Christians, the recently retired bishop of Durham being a good example, express opinions regarding the bible similar, if not going beyond, those of Paine, few, if any, express their very real debt to him for instituting a debate which was ultimately to give them the freedom to express their opinions.
Although described as being in poor condition, the fact of it having been published in Canada intrigued me, for while I have seen many editions of this famous work originating from many lands, I had never seen a Canadian edition of Paine’s The Age of Reason.
The First Canadian Edition Of The Age Of Reason? Read Post »
TPS member, Alan Rosenburg, has had a play written by him on Thomas Paine broadcast at peak listening time on French State Radio. Broadcast in several installments, the play seems to have been extremely well received.
The possible influence of Thomas Paine frightened the political establishment of Britain, and one of the means taken to influence public opinion against him was character assassination, another was to inflame prejudice against him.
