How has Hertford College, Oxford, managed to maintain its institutional identity and continuity through centuries of radical transformation and near-extinction? Christopher Tyerman, a distinguished historian of the Crusades and a long-standing fellow of the college, utilizes archival records and administrative history to trace the evolution of the institution from its medieval origins as Hart Hall to its modern iteration. He argues that the college's history is defined by a recurring cycle of decline and institutional reinvention, driven by both internal governance and external academic pressures.

Historians and academics recognize this work as a definitive institutional history that balances meticulous archival research with a clear narrative arc. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which serves as a primary reference for those interested in the specific evolution of Oxford collegiate structures.