Author: Edward Gibbon
Title: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 2 Volume Set (Britannica: Great Books of the Western World)
Publisher: Encyclopaedia Britannica
Year: 1952
Format: Two-volume hardcover set, full brown leatherette, gilt spines, Smyth-sewn
Condition: Excellent. Clean pages with no markings. Volumes are in excellent condition overall, with only a very light scuff to the spine (see Image 1)
Weight: 1900 g
Dimensions: 17 × 24 × 6.5 cm
Edward Gibbon's The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is one of the great works of historical literature in the English language. First published in six volumes between 1776 and 1789, it established Gibbon as one of the foremost historians of the eighteenth century and became a landmark in the study of the Roman Empire, its transformation, and the Byzantine world. The work remains particularly admired not only for its historical scope and influence, but for Gibbon's remarkably controlled, elegant, and often penetrating prose.
This 1952 edition was published by Encyclopaedia Britannica as part of the influential Great Books of the Western Worldseries, produced under the editorial direction associated with the University of Chicago. The volume is handsomely produced in full brown leatherette with a gilt spine and Smyth-sewn binding, giving it the substantial construction characteristic of mid-century Britannica editions.
Gibbon's historical interpretations have been debated and revised extensively over the centuries, but The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire remains an essential work for anyone interested in Roman history and one of the most impressive examples of historical writing in English. For many readers, the enduring pleasure of the work lies as much in Gibbon's prose as in the history itself.
