History of England and the British Empire. By Edgar Sanderson,
M.A. (Frederick Warne and Co.)—We should say that this stout but not unwieldly volume of nearly eleven hundred pages, well supplied as it is with maps, genealogical tables, and an exhaustive index, will fulfil the purpose—or rather purposes—of its author. Mr. Sanderson does not claim to have made special historical dis- coveries of his own. On the contrary, he has been content to follow in the wake of the best-known authorities upon the dif- ferent periods of the national history; thus he seems to have taken Macaulay's account of the period with which he will always be identified with rather too few grains of salt. Mr. Sanderson has kept in view the wants of general readers, and still more of young students, and he claims, quite truly, that "literature, science, art, commerce, and geographical discovery have all come
under review, and the student is enabled to trace national progress in every stage, from Roman times to the democratic era of the latter half of the nineteenth century." Mr. Sanderson treats of the Victorian era with great fullness, and, very properly, accords special treatment to our Colonies. Of the many excellent historical works of the thesaurus or handbook order, which have been published in recent years, none is better constructed, more con- scientious, or freer from bias of any offensive kind than this.
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