Abridged and with an Introduction by Antony Lentin and Brian Norman. Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, published between 1776 and 1788, is the undisputed masterpiece of English historical writing which can only perish with the language itself. Its length alone is a measure of its monumental quality: seventy-one chapters, of which twenty-eight appear in full in this edition. With style, learning and wit, Gibbon takes the reader through the history of Europe from the second century AD to the fall of Constantinople in 1453 - an enthralling account by 'the greatest of the historians of the Enlightenment'. This edition includes Gibbon's footnotes and quotations, here translated for the first time, together with brief explanatory comments, a precis of the chapters not included, 16 maps, a glossary, and a list of emperors. AUTHOR: Edward Gibbon was born on 8th May 1737 in Putney, Surrey. He described himself as "a puny child, neglected by my Mother, starved by my nurse". At nine his mother died and he was cared for by his adored 'Aunt Kitty'. In 1753 he converted to Roman Catholicism and in 1761 he began a literary career. His father's death made him a man of independent means with time to pursue his lilfe's work, 'The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," published in 1776.