A Handbook of Dates: for Students of British History (review)

Short Notices Cheney, C.R. 249 ed., A Handbook of Dates: for Students of British History, new ed., revised by Michael Jones (Royal Historical Society guides and handbooks no. 4), Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2000; cloth; pp. xvii, 247; R R P AUS$115.00; ISBN 0521770955. Since its original publication in 1945, C.R. Cheney's Handbook of Dates has become an essential reference work for British historians, complementing the Handbook ofBritish Chronology compiled by F.M. Powicke in 1939. The latter work has been revised twice, but this is thefirstrevision of Cheney's book. The new edition was coordinated by Michael Jones, and a number of distinguished historians have contributed revisions and new material in their areas ofexpertise, among them Christopher Brooke (dating of episcopal acta), David Dumville and Simon Keynes (rulers of England), Diana Greenway (bibliography), Elizabeth Hallam Smith (law terms) and Ronald Hutton (the Protestant calendar). The purpose and arrangement of the Handbook remain essentially the same as in the original edition. It is intended 'to provide a compact and convenient means of verifying dates' and for dating 'records which a student of English history will commonly encounter' (pp. ix-x). After an initial survey of the different methods of reckoning time - calendars, eras, Easter, divisions of the year and of the day - most of the text is given over to a series of tables and calendars. There are tables giving the rulers of England (from the fifth century) and their regnal years, the Popes, and saints' days and festivals (in alphabetical and chronological orders). The table of law terms from 1066 to 1830 is accompanied by a discussion of dating systems used in legal and parliamentary business. The single largest section of the book is the series of calendars arranged according to all the possible dates of Easter, giving the days ofthe week for every date in every year between 400 and 2100. There are also tables showing Easter days for each year in both Old Style and N e w Style, as well as information about the dates when the Gregorian Calendar was adopted in the different countries and regions of Europe. The French Revolutionary calendar is also included. Among the major changes for this new edition are the dates and names ofthe early Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian kings, full tables of law terms, and 250 Short Notices additional material relating to the Gregorian Calendar. Elsewhere, the layout has been improved and various corrections and additions have been made. As a result, this new edition will be an even more essential tool for historians than the original, particularly for medieval and Early M o d e m research. Despite the existence of some of this material in electronic form, the Handbook is still the most convenient and comprehensive collection of this kind of information. Toby Burrows Scholars'Centre The University of Western Australia Day bell, James, ed., Early Modern Women's Letter Writing, 1450-1700, Houndsmill, Palgrave, 2001; cloth; pp. xiv, 213; R R P £47.50; ISBN 0333945794. James Daybell has brought together an impressive range of essays on women's letter writing at various social levels. Inevitably, there is a tendency to examine the large collections of letters from elite w o m e n and in the cases where just one or two letters survive their usefulness is limited. Roger Dalrymple considers the letters ofthe Paston women, Alison Truelove looks at the Stonors, and Jacqueline Eales comments on Lady Brilliana Harley. In some chapters, historians draw new riches from archives that they have worked on for some years. For example, Alison Wall unearths some strident letters from the Thynne family and Vivienne Larminiefindsa new angle on the Newdigates with the letters ofAnne Newdigate. Jennifer Ward, James Daybell, Rosemary O'Day, and Anne Laurence offer broader surveys but each of their individual essays deals with a different time period, thus giving the volume a good sense ofcoherence. Daybell's introduction and own essay are particularly insightful. I found the other three essays fascinating. Sara Jane Steen's dissection ofillness in Lady Arabella Stuart's letters gives a perceptive view by applying twenty-first century knowledge ofmedicine to Stuart's writings. Clare Walker...