Richard Lovell Edgeworth

Richard Lovell Edgeworth (1744–1817) was a noted Irish educationalist, engineer and inventor. This autobiography, Edgeworth's eventful life, which included four marriages, twenty-two children, involvement in the turbulent politics of his time, prize-winning inventions, controversial educational theories, and professional and social networks including Erasmus Darwin, other members of the Lunar Society of Birmingham, actors, writers, and not least Sir Joseph Banks, who sponsored his election to the Royal Society. The subject's personality comes across clearly in this readable and fascinating social history of a period of rapid change in Britain and Ireland.