St. John, Henry, Viscount Bolingbroke: Retirement

He retired from politics in 1735 and spent most his remaining years on his estates in France, where he devoted himself to political and philosophical writing. His numerous writings, in a lucid but rhetorical style that was greatly admired at that time, include Letters on the Study and Use of History (privately printed, 1735–36), The True Use of Retirement (1738), and Idea of a Patriot King (1749). His works were edited by David Mallet (5 vol., 1754) and several times thereafter.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Retirement
• Return to England
• Flight to France
• Political Rise
• Bibliography

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