Henry Hallam (1777-1859) was a journalist, historian of the English constitution and literary scholar. First published in 1827, this two-volume book documents the history of the laws and institutions of England from 1485 to 1760.

Henry Hallam (1777-1859) was educated at King's College, Cambridge, and turned to the study of history and literature after tiring of the legal profession. In his first book, A View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages (1818), he documents the development of the English constitution until the end of the fifteenth century. A direct continuation of this theme, and Hallam's most famous book, this two-volume work covers a three-century period from the reign of Henry VII to the death of George II in 1760. First published in 1827, it focuses on the history of the laws and institutions of England (including the Church of England); its somewhat arbitrary cut-off point was chosen because Hallam hoped to avoid the stirring of political passions then still in the recent past. Volume 2 covers the period 1642-1760, and includes chapters on the constitutions of Scotland and of Ireland.