David Hey was Emeritus Professor of Local and Family History at the University of Sheffield, UK.
David Hey is a celebrity among family and local historians, whose books have done more than any others to form a field, to inspire research into family history and show the relevance of this to historical studies. This book goes wider, into the 'grass roots' and basis of English society in the early modern period. It displays his intellectual persona everywhere. It is highly readable, an excellent interpretative work, up-to-date, wide-ranging in themes, regions and chronology. It is especially welcome for stressing what early modern people termed 'countries': differing regions and their distinctive qualities. It will certainly promote many further scholarly enquiries along these lines. K.D.M. Snell, Director of the Centre for English Local History, University of Leicester, UK David Hey's latest book is a magnificent overview of England's past, which serves to unite the worlds of landscape history, family history and local history. Dealing with subjects as diverse as the distribution and meaning of English surnames, the development of the rural landscape, the origins and growth of towns, and the character and significance of parish churches and other great buildings, Hey provides a context and framework for local studies which local and family historians, as well as the general reader, will find both useful and informative. A clear, concise and immensely readable contribution to the literature. Tom Williamson, Professor of History, University of East Anglia, UK