20–7672
“Father Pollen has written a history of the English Catholics under Elizabeth from the fall of the old church to the advent of the counter-reformation (1558–1580). He himself gives us the reasons of his beginning with the reign of Elizabeth; ‘Henry’s revolt is indeed the proper starting-point for a history of the reformation taken as a whole; but Elizabeth’s accession is better, if one is primarily considering the political and civil life of the post-reformation Catholics. Reform and counter-reform under Henry, Edward and Mary were transitory. The constructive work of each was immediately undone by their successor. But the work done by Queen Elizabeth, whether by Catholic or Protestant, lasted a long time. There have, of course, been many developments since, but they have proceeded on the lines then laid down. On the Catholic side the work of reorganization began almost immediately after the first crash, though it was only in the middle of the reign that the vitality and permanence of the new measures became evident.’”—Cath World
“The soundness of his assumptions, the critical value of his judgments, are certainly for us to consider. An internal history of Catholic organization such as Father Pollen might write would be exceptionally valuable, but this book does not contain it.” R. G. Usher
+ − Am Hist R 26:84 O ’20 1250w + Cath World 111:534 Jl ’20 1050w
“Father Pollen has written an interesting and scholarly work on a critical period of our island history. The book is written, on the whole, with tact and discrimination: the author holds the scales more evenly than most Catholic historians do between the warring creeds and factions.”
+ − Sat R 130:55 Ag 17 ’20 1200w
“His present volume is well documented with printed and unprinted material. He is somewhat sparing in his references to other scholars who have laboured in the same field.”
+ − The Times [London] Lit Sup p560 S 2 ’20 1400w
POLLOCK, SIR FREDERICK. League of nations. *$4 (*10s 6d) Macmillan 341.1