A Short History of England, Ireland, and Scotland - Paperback

This is a concise but comprehensive history of the British Isles. From the preface: "The reader will please observe that there seem to have been two things most closely interwoven with the life of England-RELIGION and MONEY have been the great evolutionary factors in her development. It has been, first, the resistance of the people to the extortions of money by the ruling class, and second, the violating of their religious instincts, which has made nearly all that is vital in English history. The lines upon which the government has developed to its present constitutional form are chiefly lines of resistance to oppressive enactments in these two matters. The dynastic and military history of England, although picturesque and interesting, is really only a narrative of the external causes which have impeded the nation's growth toward its ideal of 'the greatest possible good to the greatest possible number.' The historic development of Ireland and Scotland, and the events which have brought these two countries into organic union with England are, of necessity, very briefly related."