James Gairdner (1828-1912) was one of the foremost authorities of his day on the Tudor period. This magisterial four-volume survey (originally published 1908-1913) argues that the impetus for the English Reformation came from the Lollard movement of the late fourteenth century. A prolific researcher and editor, Gairdner devoted his career to English history, and his study is both meticulous and factually sound. His critics, however, were quick to observe that the Lollard hypothesis was tenuous, and this mature work is most valuable today to those interested in the history of Reformation scholarship. Published in 1913, Volume 4 focuses on the first year of the reign of Mary Tudor and her marriage to Philip of Spain. Left unfinished on the death of the author, the book was completed by the Reverend William Hunt and includes a preface outlining Gairdner's life and career.
