Cambridge Library Collection - British

William Marshall (1745–1818), from farming stock, became a farmer and then estate manager and land agent after several years spent conducting business in the West Indies. A pioneer of scientific methods of farming, he published widely on best practice, and was also known for his geographical surveys of agriculture. This two-volume 1789 work covers the county of Gloucestershire, but also includes dairy management in north Wiltshire and the orchards and fruit products of Herefordshire. A hands-on reporter, Marshall stayed in the vale of Gloucester to learn the art of cheese-making, and then spent a year in various locations studying local farming practice. He describes the rural economy of the area, with the different activities suited to the different geographical locations and soil types, giving detailed information about types of land tenure, crops and animals, as well as providing a list of 'provincialisms' which offer fascinating insights into the Gloucestershire dialect.

Originally published in 1815, this is the 'corrected' second edition of a travel writer's controversial but hugely popular two-volume memoirs.

Originally published in 1815, this is the 'corrected' second edition of a travel writer's controversial but hugely popular two-volume memoirs.

As Paine's friend and fellow reformer, Rickman paints a sympathetic portrait of the controversial political activist in this 1819 biography.

Published in 1840, this three-volume collection illuminates the politics and principles of legal reformer Sir Samuel Romilly (1757-1818).

This 1815 pamphlet concludes that all people in comfortable circumstances should aid the 'worthy' poor via existing charitable establishments.

This witty argument for female liberty from the domestic sphere by Scots feminist Marion Kirkland Reid was published in 1843.

This greatly praised topographical history was first published in 1782; this reissue is of the enlarged second edition of 1783.

A reissue of two accounts, from 1912 and 1916, discussing the development of fingerprinting as a forensic tool.

A Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, William John Thoms (1803–85) pursued literary and bibliographical interests and conversed with the likes of Thomas Macaulay and Charles Dickens. Most notably, he coined the term 'folklore' in 1846 and founded the scholarly periodical Notes and Queries in 1849. This remarkable 1838 publication, dedicated to the soon-to-be-crowned Queen Victoria, is a review of British state ceremonial and court etiquette, giving details of the royal family from the queen herself downwards, with appropriate forms of address to each member, and describing the titles, history and roles of all court officials, from the Poet Laureate and the Historiographer Royal to the Clerk of the Closet. Thoms also provides an account of the coronation of Queen Anne (the last queen regnant), the official programme for the forthcoming coronation, and appendices giving lists of precedence among the peerage of Great Britain and their wives.

Originally published between 1894 and 1899, this landmark three-volume work made economic subjects far more accessible to English readers.

Originally published between 1894 and 1899, this landmark three-volume work made economic subjects far more accessible to English readers.

Originally published between 1894 and 1899, this landmark three-volume work made economic subjects far more accessible to English readers.

Published in 1914, this two-volume biography celebrates the achievements of the banker, politician and scientist Sir John Lubbock (1834-1913).

This nine-volume selection from the letters of Queen Victoria was commissioned by Edward VII, and published between 1907 and 1932.

This nine-volume selection from the letters of Queen Victoria was commissioned by Edward VII, and published between 1907 and 1932.

This nine-volume selection from the letters of Queen Victoria was commissioned by Edward VII, and published between 1907 and 1932.

This highly illustrated 1868 work on interior design gives a fascinating insight into the late Victorian taste for the medieval.

A classic work in the literature of poverty, published in 1890 by William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army.

The 1858 printing of the 1857 autobiography of the Jamaican-born nurse who looked after British soldiers during the Crimean War.

The 1822 second edition of a vividly enjoyable account of the history of gastronomy in Europe since antiquity.

Published in 1888, this work is one of the central contributions to the debate between the orthodox and historicist schools of economics.

An influential 1903 account of life among London's poorest East End residents at the dawn of the twentieth century.

First published in 1911, this acclaimed and influential feminist classic is one of the most important of the twentieth century.