The English in Ireland in the Eighteenth Century. London: Longmans, 1872. First Edition. Three Volumes. (1) xiv, 633, [24]; (2) xi, 520. (3) xi, 519. Publisher’s cloth boards, covers decorated in blind, title lettered in gilt to spines. Light fading along spines, otherwise a very good set.

An overtly polemical work that champions Protestantism while disparaging Roman Catholicism.

Froude seeks to defend English policies in Ireland—especially those associated with Oliver Cromwell—and argues that Ireland’s difficulties stemmed from insufficient English oversight, insisting that stronger English intervention was necessary to resolve them.

Unsurprisingly, his interpretation has drawn substantial criticism, not only from the Catholic Church and Anglican High Church circles, but also from historians in both England and Ireland who challenge his conclusions.