Catholicism, Identity and Politics in the Age of Enlightenment: The Life and Career of Sir Thomas Gascoigne, 1745–1810 by Alexander Lock (review)

Alexander Lock's Catholicism, Identity and Politics in the Age of Enlightenment is a study of one particular English Catholic—Sir Thomas Gascoigne (1745–1810)—and how he can be seen as an example of the intersections of the Enlightenment and English Catholicism in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Lock, the Curator of Modern Historical Manuscripts at the British Library, makes interesting contributions in this work to two important areas of recent historiography—the construction and manifestation of English Catholicism at a time during which the penal laws were still in place and of a distinct English national identity. It is an attractive book with a wonderful bibliography. In some ways, it serves as a complementary study to Gabriel Glickman's The English Catholic Community, 1688–1745 (2009); while Glickman covered the period of the perceived Jacobite threat, Lock focuses on the later eighteenth century when English Catholics were slowly making inroads into elite social and political circles.

The book is divided into three sections. The first section (chapters 1 and 2) deals with Gascoigne's years abroad, through which he received a liberal education and took Grand Tours during which he met with different European heads of state. This is the most interesting and powerful section of the book, and Lock places his argument—about how the Enlightenment influenced English Catholic thought and behavior—within the work of earlier scholars, such as J. C. H. Aveling, Joseph Chinnici, and the aforementioned Glickman. However, while Lock makes sure to explain what he means by liberal, he does not fully explain what he means by Enlightenment; it seems as though he equates the two—liberal and Enlightenment—which is problematic considering the demonstrated diversities of the Enlightenment. Lock also argues that Gascoigne's experiences with fellow English travelers on the Grand Tour highlight how equating an English identity with anti-Catholicism can be very misleading. This is good stuff and is an important contribution to English national identity studies, simultaneously being framed within and challenging earlier studies by scholars such as J. C. D. Clark, Linda Colley, and Colin Haydon.

In the book's second section (chapter 3), Lock moves on to explaining how Gascoigne settled in England and abjured his faith publicly in order to gain a seat as an MP. According to Lock, this was the deal that Gascoigne was willing to make—becoming Anglican to make other things possible, though remaining at heart and in sympathies Catholic. This is a convincing portrait of Gascoigne. But, it begs the question: how representative was Gascoigne as an English Catholic? Locke's answer to this question is not fully convincing as he argues throughout that Gascoigne was an exceptional figure, given his upbringing and foreign education and his subsequent political, economic, and social position, but then contending that any answer to "typicality" is elusive. Nevertheless, scholars with an interest in how well biographies—or "life histories"—can serve to deepen a broader historical narrative will find Lock's argument in his introduction thought-provoking.

In the last section (chapters 4 and 5), Lock provides an analysis of Gascoigne as a successful manager of his estate, whose ideas regarding estate management were shaped by the liberal education that he had received. This section should prove of interest to economic historians as Lock presents Gascoigne in contrast to the leading view of Anglican gentry who left direct management of their estates to others; in contrast, Gascoigne was forced to be different because of penal law obstacles and restrictions.

Ultimately, Lock's work is a welcome addition to studies on English Catholic history and English national identity. The book's great strength is in depicting how the later eighteenth and early nineteenth century was an important time...