The Oxford Companion to British History [Hardcover]

John Cannon (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 11, 1997

Few countries can boast a history as endlessly intricate and fascinatingly complex as Britain. From the Glorious Revolution to the invention of golf, British history is a rich tapestry of enigmatic personalities, contentious politics, indelible legacies, and stunning achievements. For centuries, Britain has been a world leader and innovator, yet its distinct culture, with its fondness for royalty, lukewarm ale and left-hand side driving, remains, at times, impenetrable to the outsider. Now, in The Oxford Companion to British History, readers have a comprehensive and authoritative perspective into all the idiosyncrasies and nuances that make British history so uniquely British.
Featuring 4000 A-Z entries written by 120 of the leading political, social, economic, and military scholars in the United Kingdom and Ireland, this single volume reference offers a wealth of information on British history. The Oxford Companion to British History covers all facets of this storied subject, from the arrival of Julius Caesar on British shores in 55 B.C. to John Majors ill-fated back to basics initiative in the 1990s. Readers can explore this rich 2000-year history with insightful and meticulous descriptions of every important person, place, date, and movement in this fabled country, including the political legacies of the Magna Carta and the Gunpowder Plot, the legendary reigns of such monarchs as Henry VIII and Queen Victoria, the social movements of the Luddites and the Parlimentarians, cultural and artistic phenomena like Romanticism and neo-classical architecture, and the scientific achievements of Newton and Darwin. Here the etymology of the cardigan sweater (named after Crimean War hero James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan) and the biography of Mary Wollstonecraft, author of Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792), get equal billing with such familiar figures as William Shakespeare, Oliver Cromwell, and Elizabeth I. In addition, general interest articles on topics like the monarchy and the Second World War are interspersed with more esoteric subjects like Ida, the sixth century king of Bernicia, to create a complete reference of British history. Whether your interest lies in the Beatles, Robin Hood, Northern Ireland, John Locke, the Tower of London, Gothic Architecture, Princess Diana, or beagling (the hunting of hares on foot with the aid of beagle hounds), nothing is slighted.
Designed for ease of use, the Companion offers ample cross-referencing between essay-length articles and short, quick-reference entries, supported by 12 detailed maps and an exemplary general index. Ideal for everyone with an interest in British history, The Oxford Companion to British History is the definitive window into this fascinating world.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

From "Abbeys," monastic organizations that were important in local-level medieval government, to "Zutphen, Battle of," where the great poet Sir Philip Sidney lost his life in 1586, this 1,000-plus-page tome offers an erudite register of all things British. Editor John Cannon's emphases are sometimes idiosyncratic--the entry for the Beatles, inarguably influential in British and world history, is as short as that for "beagling," a particular kind of rabbit hunting. The Oxford Companion to British History is an invaluable and well-written resource for Anglophiles nonetheless.

From Booklist

More than 4,000 entries from 55 B.C. to the present, in an A^-Z format, mark this newest entry in the Oxford Companion series of histories. Renowned for their thoroughness and authoritative approach--the editor used more than 100 distinguished academic contributors--the Oxford people have produced yet another standard in the field.

Covering more than 2,000 years of British history, this one-volume historical dictionary includes social, political, military, cultural, economic, scientific, and biographical events. All entries are signed by the contributor and run from short 50-word descriptions to longer 1,000-to 1,500-word essays. Cited references are noted by an asterisk, and, when appropriate, cross-references are also provided. Entries cover the range of history from major political figures, such as Disraeli and Elizabeth I, to music, literature, and science, with entries for the Beatles, Mary Shelley, and Sir Isaac Newton.

Legal and technical terms are represented as well. Examples of these include infangthief and outfangthief (early medieval jurisdictions), and oyer and terminer (commission issued to traveling justices to visit the shire and receive the presentments of those suspected of crime). Sports are covered, with entries for cockfighting, cricket, croquet, gliding, and hockey, among others. Entries on social and domestic life--childbirth, children, coffee houses, gypsies and tinkers, inns and tavernsare also prominent. There are 12 historical maps as well as several genealogical charts. A subject index including most headwords and related articles rounds out the volume. The subject index provides the equivalent of see also references, listing articles under general topics such as battles, prime ministers, and sport and recreation.

This volume is more up to date than The Columbia Companion to British History [RBB Mr 15 97], which ends its coverage in 1979. Oxford, on the other hand, includes events as recent as Tony Blair's election as British Prime Minister in May_ 1997. It also includes more general articles, such as dress, foreign policy, and funerals. Its biographical entries, especially for kings and queens, tend to be longer. These differences, coupled with the subject index and the fact that many of its entries include a brief list of sources, make The Oxford Companion to British History a first choice. It is recommended for all high-school, public, and academic libraries and should be kept on the ready-reference shelves.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1056 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (December 11, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198661762
• ISBN-13: 978-0198661764
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.8 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,567,531 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best one volume source on British History., April 10, 2000

By 

Richard L. King - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Oxford Companion to British History (Hardcover)

I have been using the "Oxford Companion to British History" on a regular basis since its publication. I am not a specialist in British History, but my work as a cataloguer of rare and antiquarian British books has required me to have a working knowledge of British History. This book has proved invaluable to me in my work. Moreover, I can rarely resist the temptation to browse the Companion--it is a text that draws the reader in. Highly recommended.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For any academic library's British History collection, May 17, 2003

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Oxford Companion to British History (Paperback)

Now in a newly revised and expanded edition, The Oxford Companion To British History is a dictionary-style, 1056-page resource reference which is filled from cover to cover with names, places, terms, and events comprising the history of Great Britain and organized alphabetically for easy lookup. Compiled and edited by John Cannon (formerly the Chair of Modern History at Newcastle-upon-Tyne until 1992) and brimming with extensive facts and details, The Oxford Companion To British History is a top-notch reference which is enhanced with the inclusion of 12 maps, and would prove to be an invaluable cornerstone for any academic library's British History collection.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Detailed look at British Empire, with one error, February 10, 1998

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Author Bill Peschel "Writers Gone Wild" (Hershey, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Oxford Companion to British History (Hardcover)

This massive 1,000+ page guide to all things British is a solemn, sometimes irreverent dissection of the United Kingdom. More than just a reference work describing the doings of politicians and generals. This companion carefully moves into areas not normally covered by such works. There are entries that discuss various major industries - shipbuilding, mining, gas and cotton - and on aspects of private and domestic life, like childbirth, housing, health and food. While the growth, meaning and importance of sports is discussed, only two athletes rate their own entries (the soccer star Stanley Matthews, knighted for his accomplishments on the field, and cricketer W.G. Grace, the Victorian star who continued playing first-rate cricket until he was 60). The only flaw in the entire book is a production problem that caused the deletion of pages 949 through 980, or between James Ussher and William Whewell. Not a noticeable problem, unless you're looking up information about Queen Victoria.