The fact that this book has passed through nine editions in seven years seems to show that it was not altogether written in vain, and has answered the purpose for which it was written.
The first edition carried the history of Great Britain to the year 1885. I have now prolonged it to the year 1902. The termination of the long reign of Queen Victoria, the end of the century, and the long-delayed pacification of South Africa, appeared to provide landmarks to which the narrative ought to be extended.
I have to thank many kind correspondents for corrections and suggestions made during the last seven years. They will note that their hints have not been neglected. A special word of thanks is due to the Rev. A. Beaven of Leamington, for a very copious and useful list of corrigenda, of which I have made full use.
Oxford,
September 15, 1902.
CONTENTS.
| CHAPTER | PAGE | |
| I. | Celtic and Roman Britain | 1 |
| II. | The Coming of the English | 14 |
| III. | The Conversion of England, and the Rise of Wessex. 597-836 | 23 |
| IV. | The Danish Invasions, and the Great Kings of Wessex, 836-975 | 33 |
| V. | The Days of Cnut and Edward the Confessor | 51 |
| VI. | The Norman Conquest, 1066-1087 | 67 |
| VII. | William the Red—Henry I.—Stephen. 1087-1154 | 81 |
| VIII. | Henry II. 1154-1189 | 97 |
| IX. | Richard I. and John. 1189-1216 | 114 |
| X. | Henry III. 1216-1272 | 134 |
| XI. | Edward I. 1272-1307 | 148 |
| XII. | Edward II. 1307-1327 | 171 |
| XIII. | Edward III. 1327-1377 | 180 |
| XIV. | Richard II. 1377-1399 | 202 |
| XV. | Henry IV. 1399-1413 | 213 |
| XVI. | Henry V. 1413-1422 | 220 |
| XVII. | The Loss of France. 1422-1453 | 231 |
| XVIII. | The Wars of the Roses. 1454-1471 | 245 |
| XIX. | The Fall of the House of York. 1471-1485 | 260 |
| XX. | Henry VII. 1485-1509 | 272 |
| XXI. | Henry VIII., and the Breach with Rome. 1509-1536 | 282 |
| XXII. | The English Reformation. 1536-1553 | 296 |
| XXIII. | The Catholic Reaction. 1553-1558 | 314 |
| XXIV. | Elizabeth. 1558-1603 | 322 |
| XXV. | James I. 1603-1625 | 350 |
| XXVI. | The Reign of Charles I. to the Outbreak of the Civil War. 1625-1642 | 362 |
| XXVII. | The Great Civil War. 1642-1651 | 380 |
| XXVIII. | Cromwell. 1651-1660 | 406 |
| XXIX. | Charles II. 1660-1685 | 420 |
| XXX. | James II. 1685-1688 | 436 |
| XXXI. | England after the Revolution. 1688-1702 | 445 |
| XXXII. | Anne. 1702-1714 | 461 |
| XXXIII. | The Rule of the Whigs. 1714-1739 | 482 |
| XXXIV. | The Development of the Colonial Empire of Britain. 1739-1760 | 498 |
| XXXV. | George III. and the Whigs—The American War. 1760-1783 | 532 |
| XXXVI. | The Younger Pitt, and the Recovery of English Prosperity. 1782-1793 | 554 |
| XXXVII. | England and the French Revolution. 1789-1802 | 574 |
| XXXVIII. | England and Bonaparte. 1802-1815 | 598 |
| XXXIX. | Reaction and Reform. 1815-1832 | 633 |
| XL. | Chartism and the Corn Laws. 1832-1852 | 652 |
| XLI. | The Days of Palmerston. 1852-1865 | 673 |
| XLII. | Democracy and Imperialism. 1865-1885 | 700 |
| XLIII. | The Last Years of Queen Victoria, 1886-1901—The South African War. 1899-1902 | 718 |
| XLIV. | India and the Colonies. 1815-1902 | 734 |
| Index | 757 |