Volume IV of the magisterial History of the University of Oxford covers the seventeenth century, a period when both institutionally and intellectually the University was expanding. Oxford and its University moreover had a major role to play in the tumultuous religious and political events of the century: the Civil War, the Commonwealth, the Restoration.

`The volume ... chronicles an exciting intellectual world, with a heady mixture of old and new thinking, and at just a general level, it makes fascinating reading.' Colin Haydon, Anglican and Episcopal History, Vol.LXIX, No.3, Sept. 2000. `The individual contributions together ... produce a wonderfully illuminating - and entertaining - whole.' Colin Haydon, Anglican and Episcopal History, Vol.LXIX, No.3, Sept. 2000. `Of the making of books on the history of the University of Oxford there shall be no end - a state of affairs most heartily to be applauded. The Oxford Historical Society has been producing fine editions of essential texts since 1884 and, happily continues to do so. ... The volume as a whole covers in a masterly fashion a vast expanse of learning and charts sure-footedly an extraordinarily complex period in the history of Oxford, deeply enmeshed as it was in the religious and political tergiversations of the century. No historian, and certainly no ecclesiastical historian of the seventeenth century can afford to ignore it.' Elisabeth Leedham-Green, Ecclesiastical History, Volume 50, No 3, July 1999 `This splendid book is the latest edition to the multi-volume History of the University of Oxford that has been appearing since 1984. It amply lives up to the very high scholarly standards set by its predecessors, and presents a rich abundance of primary research that gives by far the most detailed picture of seventeenth-century Oxford yet published. It is as nearly definitive a treatment of its subject as any history book can be ... There is a wealth of fascinating detail throughout the book, and along the way we encounter a veritable gallery of interesting and eccentric characters ... this is a magisterial work, full of unobtrusive learning, and a delight to read.' David L Smith, EHR, November 1999 `a learned book.' Donald Pennington, Ballilol College Record