Lord Brougham in His Own Words: A Modern Look at The Memoirs of the Life and Times of Henry Lord Brougham by Himself
- David Brougham
- Jul 31
- 11 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
Few Victorian statesmen worked harder to shape their own legacy than Henry, Lord Brougham. Lawyer, reformer, scientist, writer, political street‑fighter—he was a man of astonishing energy and equally astonishing self‑confidence. His memoirs, published in three editions, are the fullest attempt he ever made to explain himself to posterity.
This post explores what those memoirs are, how they were received, what they reveal—and conceal—about Brougham, and why they still matter today.
1. The Origins and Structure of the Memoirs
Lord Henry Brougham began the memoirs later in life, October 1861, at age 83, and by 17 November 1861 he was already discussing in correspondence with Henry Reeve, then editor of Edinburgh Review, how the autobiography should be structured and how much personal anecdote it ought to contain. In the opening pages, he candidly admits the limitations of his fading memory and regrets not keeping a diary. He writes:
"I have no journal or diary to refer to, and my memory, which once was so retentive, now often fails me in the details of events that once seemed so vivid."
Henry Lord Brougham, Life and Times
This admission sets the tone for the memoirs, which rely heavily on Brougham’s recollections and a rich collection of letters he exchanged with notable figures of his time. The accuracy of the memoirs was a feature of later criticisms. The three volumes cover his early life, political career, and reflections on social and political upheavals.
Brougham, in preparing to write the memoirs, was acutely aware of the danger that an autobiography of such a long and prominent public career might become excessively self-centred. In 1861, Henry Reeve, himself a well-connected political and literary figure, encouraged him to include more personal reminiscences and anecdotes. Brougham accepted that these would make the narrative more engaging but was uneasy about including incidents whose only significance arose from their connection with himself. Writing to Reeve on 17 November 1861, he explained that such material risked making the work “a tissue of mere egotism.” [Source ref]
His concern proved remarkably prescient. Ten years later, reviewing the second volume of The Life and Times of Henry Lord Brougham, the British Quarterly Review observed that “there is, of course, a great deal of characteristic egotism in the narrative.” Yet the reviewer did not regard this as wholly detrimental, adding that it was “amusing rather than offensive” and perhaps no more than might be expected from “a man who has played a prominent part in life.” Brougham had therefore anticipated one of the most obvious criticisms of his memoirs before they were completed: the difficulty of recounting a career spent near the centre of British public life without making himself the centre of the story. The contemporary reviewer effectively confirmed the very danger Brougham had identified, while also acknowledging that, for a man whose involvement in so many major events was genuine, a degree of self-importance was perhaps unavoidable.
The memoirs were published posthumously in January 1871. The second and third editions (Nov 1871 and 1872) were edited to correct some factual errors and clarify ambiguous passages. This editorial work was undertaken by Brougham’s literary executors, namely his brother William, who aimed to preserve the integrity of his narrative while improving its historical accuracy following strict instructions to do so.
2. What the Memoirs Actually Cover
Although often summarised as political reminiscence, the memoirs span a remarkable range of historical events and intellectual pursuits:
The Edinburgh Enlightenment and his early scientific experiments
The founding of the Edinburgh Review
The abolitionist movement and his work with Wilberforce
Legal reform, especially his campaign against delays in Chancery
Education reform, including the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge
The Queen Caroline affair
Whig politics leading up to the 1832 Reform Act
His tenure as Lord Chancellor
European diplomacy, travel, and intellectual networks
This breadth is one of the memoirs’ greatest strengths. They are not merely political autobiography—they are a panorama of early‑19th‑century Britain seen through the eyes of one of its most restless participants.
3. Brougham’s Voice: Energy, Ego, and Earnestness
The memoirs open with characteristic flourish:
“My present object is to relate, as far as my memory will serve, some circumstances of my early life which may form a sort of introduction to my autobiography and to my account of matters of higher importance.”
This sentence tells you everything: Brougham’s life is the gateway to history.
He presents himself as a prodigy
He recounts his youthful scientific experiments with pride:
“My early efforts in mathematics and mechanics… Optics, Chemistry… My first speech at the Royal Medical Society.”
He presents himself as a reformer
On slavery:
“No man ever laboured more constantly for the diffusion of knowledge among the people, or more strenuously against the monstrous iniquity of slavery.”
He presents himself as indispensable
On Queen Caroline:
“During all these transactions, the Queen relied chiefly on my counsel… I was the channel through which her wishes and her wrongs were conveyed to the country.”
But he also presents himself as deeply earnest
This is the positive side: Brougham genuinely believed in education, liberty, and justice. His memoirs are full of moral seriousness, not just self‑promotion.
4. What the Memoirs Don’t Say
Despite their richness, the memoirs have notable silences:
Little emotional introspection
Minimal acknowledgement of his unpopularity
No sustained reflection on his failures
Selective presentation of political conflicts
These omissions matter. They show that the memoirs are not simply recollection—they are curation.
5. How Victorians Reacted at the Time
The Press: Admiration mixed with scepticism
Brougham's memoirs were regarded almost from publication as fascinating but problematic historical evidence. Reviewers criticised the diffuseness, his advanced age when writing, factual errors, self-regard and the uncertain value of some recollections. At the same time, they recognised that his correspondence and first-hand accounts of episodes in which he had been intimately involved — especially the Queen Caroline affair — could illuminate events unavailable elsewhere.
Edinburgh Review
Lord Brougham was one of the founders and prolific writers for the Edinburgh Review. A publication focused on modern thinking and insights. One could therefore assume that its review of Brougham's autobiography would be favourable. In April 1872 their article “The Life and Times of Henry Lord Brougham,” criticised the inaccuracies.
Right at the beginning of the review, the reviewer explains that Brougham had instructed that his manuscript should essentially be printed as he wrote it. The consequence, the reviewer says, was that:
“gross and palpable errors have been left uncorrected.”
Edinburgh Review, April 1872
It immediately attributes the looseness and inaccuracy of important passages to failure of memory in Brougham's advanced age, an oft repeated criticism.
Even more striking is what happens later, when the reviewer tests Brougham's version of the political crisis that brought down Lord Grey's government in 1834. On p. 541 it concludes:
“in almost every detail erroneous.”
The reviewer then identifies what it regards as specific errors. It subsequently gives a wonderfully concise judgement on one of Brougham's great strengths and weaknesses:
“an extraordinary, though not an accurate memory.”
Edinburgh Review, April 1872
Despite the need for corrections, throughout the 49 pages of their review, it goes through Lord Brougham's life in detail, quoting key passages from Life and Times to illustrate the man and his major contributions in a very favourable light.
At some periods of his life Lord Brougham was undoubtedly regarded, not only here but by foreign nations, as the greatest and most extraordinary man of his age and country. But he lived more for contemporary, than for permanent, fame. He gloried in the triumphs of the hour; but there never lived a man of whom it is more difficult to convey a correct image to posterity. His writings will not do it, for none of them are of the highest mark of excellence and endurance. His speeches will not do it, for speeches are ephemeral. And as for the humours and the genius of the man himself, who shall attempt to record them?
Edinburgh Review, April 1872, p544
British Quarterly Review
British Quarterly Review, gave two rather different reactions to the first two volumes. Regarding Volume 1, in April 1871, the Review observed that the period covered was both one of the most important portions of Brougham's life and one of the most turbulent periods of European history. Yet its verdict was that:
“the narrative is languid”
British Quarterly Review, April 1871
and that it contained little simultaneously new and important commentary.
The reviewer thought Brougham had overestimated the interest readers would take in some old travel journals, political manoeuvring and correspondence. More seriously, it argued that Brougham had possessed a unique opportunity: he had both participated in major events as they happened and survived long enough to view them retrospectively. A more philosophical or picturesque observer might therefore have produced an extraordinary historical record. The reviewer concluded, rather cuttingly, that such a work was not something one could reasonably expect from Brougham.
Writing more favourably about Volume II, the British Quarterly Review, 1871, singled out Brougham's account of the Liverpool election, describing it as “very racy”, but regarded the principal value of the volume as Brougham's account of George IV, Princess Caroline and the Queen Caroline affair.
It says Brougham's narrative:
“clears away many misconceptions and solves some mysteries.”
British Quarterly Review, 1871
The reviewer believed the material threw considerably more light on the history of the Queen Caroline affair than had previously been available.
The Examiner
The Examiner, 16 December 1871 contains a substantial review headed “Lord Brougham's Memoirs”, beginning on p. 1244, specifically prompted by the publication of Volume III. This review makes an important distinction. It regretted that Brougham had delayed writing the autobiography until very old age — by which time memory and the deaths of so many contemporaries inevitably limited what he could achieve — but nevertheless concluded that there was:
“so much good matter in it that its shortcomings and defects are amply atoned for.”
The Examiner, 16 December 1871, p1244
The review was urging readers not to discard Brougham's memoirs because he is unreliable in places; use him critically because there is still a great deal of valuable material there.
Criticism of earlier Brougham works - not dissimilar
It is not the first time that Brougham's writing came under scrutiny. Writing in 1838 about Brougham’s account of George IV and Queen Caroline in the Edinburgh Review, The Spectator offered a verdict that applies perfectly to the memoirs:
“If not strictly history, [it is] almost unrivalled as a piece of historical portraiture… the favourable features of some are improved, and the ugly traits of others exaggerated.”
The Spectator, 1838
In other words: brilliant, vivid, but biased.
Edgar Allan Poe reviewed Brougham’s writings in a piece call The Critical and Miscellaneous Writings of Henry Lord Brougham, 1842, and produced one of the most memorable assessments of his character:
“An intellect of unusual capacity, goaded into diseased action by passions nearly ferocious.”
And:
“Attempting many things… he egregiously failed in none. But that he pre‑eminently excelled in any cannot be affirmed with truth.”
Edgar Allan Poe, 1842
Poe admired the energy but doubted the depth—a perfect summary of how many Victorians read the memoirs.
6. Modern Historical Critique
Historians value the memoirs for three reasons:
Firsthand political detail. They offer unmatched insight into Whig politics, Queen Caroline, legal reform, and the intellectual world of Edinburgh.
A window into Brougham’s personality. Reviewing Chester W. New’s biography of Brougham, the historian M. G. Brock highlighted the striking contrast between Brougham’s reforming zeal and “his uncontrolled ambition and his taste for political combat and intrigue.”
A case study in Victorian self‑fashioning. The memoirs show how a 19th‑century statesman constructs his legacy—through documents, anecdotes, and moral framing.
But historians also warn (as with other memoirs of the period):
The memoirs are selective
They exaggerate Brougham’s centrality
They require corroboration from other sources
Still, they remain indispensable.
7. The Positives: Why the Memoirs Matter
It’s important not to over‑emphasise the negatives. The memoirs have real strengths:
They are extraordinarily vivid
Brougham writes with energy, humour, and detail. His portraits of George IV, Queen Caroline, and the Edinburgh literati are unforgettable.
They are historically rich
Few Victorian autobiographies cover so many spheres—science, law, politics, education, diplomacy.
They reveal a man who genuinely cared
Brougham’s passion for education and abolition was real. His memoirs show a man who
believed deeply in progress.
They preserve documents and letters otherwise lost
He embeds correspondence, speeches, and records that historians still rely on.
They show the human side of major events
The Queen Caroline affair, in particular, comes alive through his eyes.
8. Their Relevance Today
For modern readers—especially those interested in the Brougham family, Brougham Hall, or early‑19th‑century Britain—the memoirs offer:
A vivid insider’s view of political reform
A portrait of the Edinburgh intellectual world
A case study in how historical actors shape their own legacy
A reminder that history is always partly self‑constructed
They also help us understand Brougham himself: brilliant, flawed, tireless, and unforgettable.
9. Final Thoughts: Brougham’s Last Argument
The memoirs are not perfect. They are biased, selective, and occasionally self‑congratulatory.
But they are also fascinating, important, and deeply human.
They need to be read in context to the norms, mores and Victorian events of the day.
They show a man who believed he had lived a life worth recording—and who wanted future generations to understand not only what he did, but why he did it. The Life and Times memoirs could best be described as Brougham's last speech - only longer, illuminating 19th century Britain, providing biased yet fascinating insights by a man whose life contributed much.
For anyone interested in Brougham, they are essential reading.
10. Digital versions of the Memoirs of The Life and Times of Henry Lord Brougham
Google Books has a digital version available:
Volume 1 - This volume covers his early childhood, education in Edinburgh, his work founding the Edinburgh Review, and his early political career up to the year 1811.
Volume 2 - This volume covers his career from 1811 to 1828, featuring major political events including his famous legal defense of Queen Caroline.
Volume 3 - This volume focuses heavily on his tenure as Lord Chancellor, his work on the landmark Reform Act of 1832, and his later life. [1, 2, 3]
Sources
Brougham and Vaux, Henry Brougham, Baron. "The Life and Times of Henry, Lord Brougham", Written by Himself. 3 vols. Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, 1871–1872.
Poe, Edgar Allan. “Review of The Critical and Miscellaneous Writings of Henry Lord Brougham.” Graham’s Magazine 20, no. 3 (March 1842): 190.
“The Life and Times of Henry Lord Brougham,” Article VIII, Edinburgh Review, vol. 135, no. 276 (April 1872), pp. 502–549.
“Lord Brougham's Memoirs.” The Examiner, 16 December 1871, p. 1244.
Brougham, Henry, Lord Brougham and Vaux. Letter to Henry Reeve, 17 November 1861. In John Knox Laughton, Memoirs of the Life and Correspondence of Henry Reeve, C.B., D.C.L., vol. II, pp. 73–74. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1898.
“The Life and Times of Lord Brougham.” British Quarterly Review 53 (April 1871): 297.
“Review of The Life and Times of Henry Lord Brougham, Written by Himself, vol. II.” British Quarterly Review 54 (July 1871): 115.
“Lord Brougham as a Historian.” The Spectator, 14 April 1838, p. 18. The Spectator Archive.
Brougham, Henry. “George the Fourth and Queen Caroline—Abuses of the Press.” The Edinburgh Review 67, no. 135 (April 1838): 1–80. [Subject of the Spectator quote]
Prof. A.Aspinall. "Lord Brougham - 'Life and Times' ". The English Historical Review, Volume LIX, Issue CCXXXIII, January 1944
Brock, M. G. "Review of Chester W. New, The Life of Henry Brougham to 1830". Past & Present. No. 22 (July 1962), pp. 84–86, p. 85.
New, Chester W. "The Life of Henry Brougham to 1830". Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1961.
