General Introduction -- The original volumes in the series Who's Who in British History were well received by readers who responded favorably to the claim of the late C. R. N. Routh, general editor of the series, that there was a need for a work of reference which should present the latest findings of scholarship in the form of short biographical essays.

Preface -- Anybody who reads about the eighteenth century will be struck by a quality of originality in its foremost men and women.