This is a major new student edition of the text describde as the firstmodernclassic of English history .Bacon`s penetration into human motives,his life -long experience of politics and government ,and his remardable literary skills ,render his History of the Reign of King Henry a major work of English literature and an important document in the history of political thought.The introduction places Bacon`s History in the context of Renaissance hisoriography ,revealing its debt

to Tacitus,and shows Bacon`s originality in re-ordering traditional material to make a coherent psychological analysis of the King`s actions.In addition to the usual series features and supporting contextual material (including relevant Essays by Bacon),generous editorial footnotes explain the historical and political issues of the reign of Henry ,and a substantial glossary clarifies clarifies Bacon`s rich but sometimes unfamiliar vocabulary.

BRIAN VICKERS,is Professor of English Literature and Director of the Centre for Renaissance Studies,ETH Zurich.He has published extensively on Francis Bacon,notably in Francis Bacon and Renaissance Prose(Cambridge,1968),Essential Articles on Francis Bacon(London,1972),and numerous essays.He has recently edited Bacons major English works for the Oxford Authors series,Francis Bacon(1996).