Review
Paul Christianson has developed a study which provides a close reading of John Selden's public discourse on history, law, and governance during the period of 1610 through 1635 as articulated in his legal and parliamentary speeches, his few surviving letters, and his published histories dealing with European and English topics. Christianson analysis the relevant books and public speeches of Selden from 1610 to 1635 as a means of understanding the genesis of constitutional conflict in 17th century England. He discusses Selden's early histories of English and European institutions, showing how Selden's interpretations changed over time in relation to his scholarship, his politics, and his view of the English constitution as a "mixed monarch". Christianson also analyses Selden's historical methods. As Christianson writes, "Selden's changing interpretations of English and Continental legal history (including his attempts to work out the relationship between the English common law and the laws of God, nature, and nations) has received considerable attention, as has his historical method and practice, including his increasingly sophisticated mastery of medieval primary sources and early modern legal and historical studies. As shown in the text and in the summaries at the end of each chapter, the interpretations articulated in the first two decades of the century formed the basis for the positions on governance voiced during his parliamentary career in the 1620s and defended in his major relevant publications form the 1630s. " This is a seminal work of exhaustive scholarship and will prove of great interest students of English constitutional law, 17th century British politics and government, and anyone who appreciates the art of the political biography. -- Midwest Book Review
