Oxford History of England


The Oxford History of England was a notable book series on the history of the United Kingdom. Published by Oxford University Press, it was originally intended to span from Roman Britain to the outbreak of the First World War in fourteen volumes written by eminent historians. Its series editor, Sir George Clark, contributed the first volume which appeared in 1934. The series as originally contemplated was completed in 1961. However, it was subsequently expanded and updated by further volumes and editions, taking the narrative as far as the end of the Second World War.
Many of the volumes are now considered to be key classic works for their respective periods. In recent years some of the volumes have been released as stand-alone works. A New Oxford History of England was commissioned in 1992 and has produced eleven volumes to date. At least six volumes are still forthcoming.

Volumes and authors

The volumes in the series are as follows:
Several volumes were subsequently revised by the authors to take into account later research.

Use of the term "England"

When the series was commissioned:
"England" was still an all-embracing word. It meant indiscriminately England and Wales; Great Britain; the United Kingdom; and even the British Empire.

Since then there has been a trend in history to restrict the use of the term "England" to the state that existed pre-1707 and to the geographic area it covered and people it contained in the period thereafter. The different authors interpreted "English history" differently, with Taylor opting to write the history of the English people, including the people of Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Empire and Commonwealth where they shared a history with England, but ignoring them where they did not. Other authors opted to treat non-English matters within their remit.