Signed by Churchill and dated '20 June, 1956' on the half-title of volume I.

A rousing account of the early history of Britain, the work describes the great men and women of the past and their impact on the development of the legal and political institutions of the English. Indeed, Churchill celebrates the creation of the constitutional monarchy and parliamentary system and the kings, queens, and leading nobles who helped create English democracy. Following Marlborough's victory at Blenheim in 1704 and ending with Wellington's defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815, Churchill recounts Britain's rise to world leadership over the course of the eighteenth century.

This last volume spans the period between 1815 and 1901. It draws to a close when the British Empire is at its peak - when a staggering one-fifth of the human race was presided over by the then, longest reigning monarch in British history, Queen Victoria. As with the other volumes it is a history not only of the English-speaking peoples, but also of the world that they inhabit. Churchill traces the footsteps of these inhabitants, whether it is to Canada and South Africa, Australia and New Zealand or across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States. He charts the rise of Germany and the unification of Italy, and examines the situation in the Balkans in 1878 - all of which had a deep and lasting impact on the geography of the European continent today.

Churchill commenced writing this work in the 1930s when he was basically unemployed but didn't complete it until 1958, by which time, following the Second World War, he firmly believed in Britain's 'Special Relationship with the U.S. and in consequence, that country's history is diligently covered.

First editions, signed by the author in volume one; 4 vols, staggered publication from 1956 to 1958, 8vo; illustrated with maps and charts; finely bound in half red morocco gilt by Asprey, spines elaborately gilt in compartments, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers; a fine set.

Woods A138a.