Unfortunately, contemporary critics in England did not share this opinion. They found the work to be “abstract and unintelligible.” Hume recovered quickly from this blow to his confidence, dedicating his time to continuing his studies and writing his next piece, an Abstract on his previous work. He wrote the abstract in an attempt to make his treatise more intelligible to the public and to increase its popularity.
Despite his historical recognition, Hume received very little positive acknowledgement from those of his own era. He applied for the post of Chair of Pneumatics and Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh in 1744, however rumors of his atheism caused the ministers of Edinburgh petitioned town hall against him. In later years, he applied for chair of philosophy at the University of Glasgow and was once again denied. Furthermore, Hume was nearly brought up on charges of heresy, though his friends were able to avert the hearing. He demonstrated obstinacy about the entire matter, claiming that he could not even be forced to appear at the hearing, as he was not a member of the established church.
For nearly a year in 1745, during the Jacobite Rebellion, Hume tutored the Marquis of Annandale, a man with a reputation for having been a lunatic. While this position was short-lived, it marked the point at which he began work on The History of England. This work occupied six volumes and took fifteen years to complete. It marked the turning point in Hume’s reputation, as he began to receive acclaim for the depth and thoroughness of his work as a historian.
Hume was active in a number of other endeavors during the writing of The History of England. From 1746 to 1749, he served as secretary to Lieutenant-General St. Clair. During this time, he wrote a collection of philosophical essays on human understanding, later published as An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. In 1752, Hume began serving as a librarian for the Faculty of Advocates, a position that gave him a huge wealth of resources to continue his historical studies. In this same year, Hume published Political Discourses, the first of his works that was successful upon first publishing. Between 1754 and 1762, when the six volumes of Hume’s History of England were being published, he worked alongside his friend John Home on projects with the Canongate Theater.
Hume’s history was significant in a number of respects. It covered the events in England from the invasion of Julius Caesar to the 3