Edward A. (Edward Augustus) Freeman

Edward Augustus Freeman was an English historian born in 1823 at Harborne. He studied at Trinity College, Oxford, and became one of the best-known historical writers of the Victorian period. His most famous work, The History of the Norman Conquest of England, its Causes and its Results, appeared in six volumes between 1867 and 1879 and helped establish his reputation as a major interpreter of early English history.

Freeman wrote widely beyond that landmark series. He published books on European history, essays, and studies of architecture, and he was also known as an architectural draughtsman with a deep interest in church buildings and the medieval past. Public life mattered to him too: he was associated with Liberal politics and wrote with strong opinions about national history, government, and the development of institutions.

He died in 1892 in Alicante, Spain, while traveling. Readers often come to Freeman for his sweeping sense of historical continuity and his talent for turning difficult early periods of English history into a compelling story.