A Short History Of The English People

London: Macmillan and Co, 1892-1894. Leather. Very Good Indeed. 10" by 7". Various. An attractive set of A Short History of the English People by John Richard Green. Complete in four volumes. Illustrated edition. Edited by Mrs. J. R. Green and Miss Kate Norgate. There are coloured maps to the front of all volumes and a fold-out map to the front of Volume III. With numerous black and white illustrations throughout all volumes. John Richard Green (12 December 1837 7 March 1883) was an English historian. He entered the Church, and served various cures in London, under a constant strain caused by delicate health. Always an enthusiastic student of history, the little leisure time he had was devoted to research. In 1869 he finally gave up his work as a clergyman, and was appointed librarian at Lambeth. He had been laying plans for various historical works, including a History of the English Church as exhibited in a series of Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury, and, what he proposed as his magnum opus, a history of England under the Angevin kings. After suffering from failing health he abandoned these projects and instead concentrated his energies on the preparation of his A Short History of the English People, which appeared in 1874, and at once gave him an assured place in the first rank of historical writers. Abandoning his proposed history of the Angevins, he confined himself to expanding his Short History into A History of the English People in 4 volumes. (187880), and writing The Making of England, of which one volume only, coming down to 828, had appeared when he died at Mentone in March 1883. After his death appeared The Conquest of England. The Short History, which in 1915 was republished as part of the Everyman Library, may be said to have begun a new epoch in the writing of history, making the social, industrial, and moral progress of the people its main theme. Contains the bookplate of one Geoffrey Roberts Pearce, as well as an instiutional bookplate of 33 Ovington Square. In half-morocco binding with gilt detailing and paper-covered boards. Externally smart, there is some minor wear to the boards, joints, extremities and backstrips, as well as minor strain to hinges. Internally, the pages are firmly bound are are bright and clean throughout, aside from some handling marks and the odd spot. Institutional bookplate of 33 Ovington Square to front blank. Very Good Indeed