This volume investigates the political, social, and administrative evolution of England during the tumultuous fourteenth century. May McKisack, a distinguished medievalist, utilizes primary administrative records, parliamentary rolls, and contemporary chronicles to construct a comprehensive history of the period. The work argues that despite the era's profound instability—marked by plague, famine, and war—the century served as a critical crucible for the development of English parliamentary and legal institutions.

Historians and scholars frequently cite this work as a foundational reference for the study of late medieval England. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which provides a rigorous and thorough examination of the period's complex administrative shifts.