Introduction

subjects; both cross-referencing and indexing have been made
possible by numbering the bibliographical footnotes through.
That some books will still inexplicably occur in what will seem
to others the wrong section is something that I accept, not
contentedly but regretfully.

Of course, however complete one tries to be, selection is
inescapable and in part has been very severe. In particular, I
have not been able to include more than a minority of articles
and notes, and I am well aware that my judgment of what may
be important in that category will differ, sometimes widely,
from that of others. I have naturally left out articles that have
since become incorporated or absorbed in published books.
With respect to books, I have tried to be very much more
comprehensive, but even here the mass required sifting. In
principle I have tried to confine myself to serious works which
contribute either new knowledge, new interpretation or new
understanding, but these terms themselves involve constant
personal judgments. Some books are not here because I do not
think them good enough, others because they have inexcusably
escaped my attention; and I propose to offer this double-edged
explanation to any author who feels slighted. Judgments and
assessments are my own, but I have tried to modify the one-
sidedness of this by noting reviews. So far as possible, I have
mentioned all reviews and short notices that have appeared in
the English Historical Review but have drawn on other journals
only for reasonably substantial reviews. I have seen no reason
to refer to the anonymous and unassessable reviews in the
Times Literary Supplement.

Apart from accidental or deliberate omissions, three classes
of writings have been specifically left out. The enormous pro-
duction of local historical studies can find accommodation only
if the work in question has something of significance to say
beyond the strictly local. The history of British expansion and
possessions overseas is noted only insofar as the books contri-
bute seriously to the history of the mother-country; the his-
toriography of empire and commonwealth requires a separate
volume. And the history of English literature, very relevant
though it is for the historian, has also had to be left out, at
least as a general rule; some works touching on bibliographical