Out of Print
From reviews of the first edition (1485-1937)
' Mr Keir has done very well a difficult piece of work, the want of which has long been felt by all students of history. His mastery of the extensive literature of the subject has enabled him to tell the story of the develop¬ment of the constitution in relation to the political, the religious, the social, and the economic movements which helped to shape it, and in relation to the great statesmen whose character and work were immediately responsible for the events and the enact¬ments which gave it its modern form. He has told his story in so interesting a way that the effort, which Stubbs once said is always needed to approach the history of institutions, is almost eliminated.' Sir William S. Holdsworth
'In most respects this is the best history of the modern constitution written in our time. It is wholly free from the aridity which too often makes constitutional history unendur¬able. Its proportions are capital, its exposi¬tion of tough matter or subtle theory is always clear and never dead, and its gift of common, or rather of rare, judicial sense is remarkable.' Keith G. Feiling
'This volume will be invaluable to students of the subject for many years to come. It is, from beginning to end, a Constitutional History, not a treatise on Constitutional Law or Political Theory. . . . Attention should be drawn to one great, and unusual, merit of this book, its literary style. Mr. Keir presents his conclusions in language which is always clear and neat, frequently eloquent, and at times dramatic.' R. B. McCallum