This work investigates the administrative, political, and social mechanisms by which the English crown attempted to govern Normandy during the period of the Lancastrian occupation. Christopher Allmand, a distinguished historian of the Hundred Years' War, utilizes extensive archival records from both English and French sources to analyze the feasibility of maintaining a cross-channel empire. The book argues that the occupation was not merely a military endeavor but a complex experiment in colonial-style governance that ultimately collapsed under the weight of local resistance and fiscal strain.

Historians regard this text as a foundational study for understanding the administrative realities of the Lancastrian regime in France. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the meticulous attention to bureaucratic detail that characterizes Allmand's research.