Octavia Hill (1838 1912) is today best remembered as one of the founders of the National Trust. However, her involvement in education and social reform, and particularly housing, was a large part of her work. Shocked at the poverty and overcrowding she found in London slums, she began to acquire and improve properties which would restore the tenants' dignity and self-respect. She organised a team of volunteer 'district visitors' to help the residents, and especially children, to achieve a better quality of life, including the provision of open spaces and recreational amenities. This book of...

Sir James Caird (1816 1892) was a Scottish agriculturalist and M.P., who wrote widely on agricultural matters, not only in Britain but in Ireland, Canada, America and India. British agricultural incomes had been falling due to low grain prices since 1846, and Caird was commissioned by The Times to undertake a survey of English agriculture. His county-by-country reports were published in 1852 as English Agriculture in 1850 51. The work was also published in America, and in German, French and Swedish versions. Changing patterns of trade meant that British agriculture had to adapt to compete...

J. A. Hobson (1858 1940) was an English economist and early socialist, whose writings on capitalism and industrialism influenced Lenin and Trotsky, and were highly regarded by John Maynard Keynes. Imperialism, published in 1902, is considered his most important work. Employed as a war correspondent by the Manchester Guardian to report on the Second Boer War, he became convinced that imperial expansion was driven by the desire to find new markets and investment opportunities, resulting in capitalistic exploitation of the colonies. He argued that imperial policies were a fundamental cause of...

This classic history of the Peninsular War was first published by a participant, Lieutenant-Colonel Napier, between 1828 and 1840.

Alexander William Kinglake (1809 1891) was a travel writer and historian. He witnessed the battle of the Alma and the Charge of the Light Brigade, and became well acquainted with the British commander, Lord Raglan. This work was commissioned by Lady Raglan to repair her husband's reputation, and Kinglake was given access to Raglan's papers, and to private and confidential state records. The eight volumes were published between 1863 and 1887. They were extremely successful commercially, but received mixed critical reviews, owing to the bias and prejudice shown by the author, and serious...

W. E. H. Lecky (1838 1903) was one of the most distinguished Victorian historians. He was unusual in the extent to which he made use of archival sources, and noted for his ability of do justice to both sides of an argument. His History of Ireland in the Eighteenth Century was first published as part of A History of England in the Eighteenth Century, but was reissued in 1892 as a five-volume work. He has been described as the first revisionist Irish historian, as the aim of the book was partly to respond to Froude's The English in Ireland in the Eighteenth Century, which is markedly anti-Irish...

W. E. H. Lecky (1838 1903) was one of the most distinguished Victorian historians. He was unusual in the extent to which he made use of archival sources, and noted for his ability of do justice to both sides of an argument. His History of Ireland in the Eighteenth Century was first published as part of A History of England in the Eighteenth Century, but was reissued in 1892 as a five-volume work. He has been described as the first revisionist Irish historian, as the aim of the book was partly to respond to Froude's The English in Ireland in the Eighteenth Century, which is markedly anti-Irish...

W. E. H. Lecky (1838 1903) was one of the most distinguished Victorian historians. He was unusual in the extent to which he made use of archival sources, and noted for his ability of do justice to both sides of an argument. His History of Ireland in the Eighteenth Century was first published as part of A History of England in the Eighteenth Century, but was reissued in 1892 as a five-volume work. He has been described as the first revisionist Irish historian, as the aim of the book was partly to respond to Froude's The English in Ireland in the Eighteenth Century, which is markedly anti-Irish...

W. E. H. Lecky (1838 1903) was one of the most distinguished Victorian historians. He was unusual in the extent to which he made use of archival sources, and noted for his ability of do justice to both sides of an argument. His History of Ireland in the Eighteenth Century was first published as part of A History of England in the Eighteenth Century, but was reissued in 1892 as a five-volume work. He has been described as the first revisionist Irish historian, as the aim of the book was partly to respond to Froude's The English in Ireland in the Eighteenth Century, which is markedly anti-Irish...

John Adam Cramb (1862 1913) was a Scottish historian and novelist, best known for his fervent patriotism and support of compulsory national service. After graduating from the University of Glasgow in 1885, he served as Lecturer in Modern History at Queen Margaret College, Glasgow, between 1885 1890 and was appointed Professor of Modern History at Queen's College, London, in 1893. This volume, first published in 1900, contains Cramb's assessment of the future of the British Empire. A fervent patriot who was writing in response to the Second Boer War in South Africa, Cramb uses historical...