The Hutchinson Illustrated Encyclopedia of British History

Abstract

"The Hutchinson Illustrated Encyclopedia of British History" is reviewed.

96/254 The Hutchinson Illustrated Encyclopedia of British History Helicon, Oxford, 1995, xi + 384 pp., ISBN 1-85986-127-X, 30

Helicon's growing reputation as a publisher of popular history reference works is further consolidated by this latest encyclopaedia. Described as "a comprehensive and authoritative guide to the people, events, and ideas that have shaped England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales from prehistory to the present day", it includes 2,200 A-Z entries contributed by a team of 21 university academics and freelance writers on historical subjects; 21 specially commissioned, signed, page-length, thematic articles (for example The Saxon shore: The end of Roman Britain; The hammer of the Celts: Edward I and Wales; Change and diversity: English Renaissance literature and art; The roots of sectarianism: Ireland under the Stuarts); 160-plus black-and-white photographs and 22 colour plates; 28 chronologies (Channel tunnel 1751-1994, Parliamentary reform in the UK 1822-1994, British trade unions 1799-1990); 29 maps and battle plans (The Church in Medieval England and Wales, British Atlantic Trade in the 1770s, Growth of the British Empire 1815-1914, Battle of Britain 1940); 18 genealogies (House of Dunkeld 1034-1290, House of Gwynedd 10391378, House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Windsor 1837-1995); and over 200 marginal quotations. Of course, statistics can be misleading and not necessarily indicative of quality, but when they are linked to a clear, concise and authoritative text, as in this instance, they gild the lily without smothering it.

As a sort of rough-and-ready quick reference test, the reviewer plucked ten enquiry terms from thin air, although with some attempt to encompass different geographical areas and chronological periods: Arbroath Abbey; Michael Collins; Falklands War; David Lloyd George; Glencoe; Hengist and Horsa; Statute of Westminster; Tower of London; United States Declaration of Independence; and Watling Street. Perhaps the test was not exacting enough but of these, seven were found immediately under the term searched for; David Lloyd George was found at the second search under Lloyd George (not George); Arbroath Abbey was not mentioned but the entry "Arbroath, declaration of" appears; and the US Declaration of Independence was quickly found under "American Revolution". So, by stretching a minor point or two, a 100 per cent success rate was achieved. Two had associated quotations; David Lloyd George a captioned photograph; but no other could boast of an illustration, not even the Tower of London. This was a disappointing return since one of the merits of this Illustrated Encyclopedia is the close proximity of its illustrations, maps and chronologies to their texts. Nevertheless, it would seem that its aim "of providing a practical and attractive source of quick reference for the non-specialist reader" is amply fulfilled.

With no apparent rival on the market, libraries supporting sixth-form and undergraduate courses in British History will find it an attractive proposition. The only nagging question remaining is whether it would have been more correctly titled as an Illustrated Dictionary, but this is not the place to open up that can of worms.

Alan Day