Anthony Hamilton

The Memoirs of Count Grammont Anthony Hamilton

This famous work from the 'French' classical author (although by birth a foreigner) details life in the court of Charles II. Philibert, Comte de Grammont (1621-1707), the subject of the famous Memoirs, was of a noble Gascon family, said to have been of Basque origin. He was eighty years old when he supplied his brother-in-law, Antoine Hamilton, with the materials for his Memoires. They were said to have been written at Grammont's dictation, but it is very evident that Hamilton's share is the most considerable. Moreover Grammont, though he had a reputation for wit, was no writer, and there is no reason to suppose that he was capable of producing a work which remains a masterpiece of style and witty portraiture.