The Royal Historical Society’s Camden Series is one of the most prestigious and important collections of primary source material relating to British History, including the British empire and Britons’ influence overseas.
The Society (and its predecessor, the Camden Society) has since 1838 published scholarly editions of sources—making important, previously unpublished, texts available to researchers. Each volume is edited by a specialist historian who provides an expert introduction and commentary.
Today the Society publishes two new Camden volumes each year in association with Cambridge University Press. You’ll find details of recent volumes below.
Accessing the Camden Series Online
The complete Camden Series now comprises over 380 volumes of primary source material, ranging from the early medieval to late-twentieth century Britain. The full series is available via Cambridge Journals Online, providing an extraordinarily rich conspectus of source material for British History as well as insights into the development of historical scholarship in the English speaking world.
Full online access to all Camden Series titles is available to all Fellows and Members of the Royal Historical Society as part of the Society’s Member Benefits from 2022.
A number of volumes are also freely available through British History Online.
Editors of the Camden Series
From January 2022, the Camden Series will be edited by Dr Richard Gaunt (University of Nottingham) and Dr Siobhan Talbott (Keele University) whose appointment you can read about here.
Richard is Associate Professor in History at the University of Nottingham, with expertise in the political and electoral history of late-eighteenth and nineteenth-century Britain. Siobhan is Reader in Early Modern History at Keele University, with research expertise in the economic and social history of Britain and the Atlantic World. Both have extensive experience of preparing and publishing scholarly editions of primary texts.
Contributing to the Series
Richard and Siobhan welcome submissions for future Camden volumes. If you have a proposal for a Camden Society volume, please:
- complete and submit the Camden Series Proposal Form and send your completed proposal to the Editors: camden.editors@royalhistsoc.org.
If you are a contracted author, please refer to the Camden Style Guidelines when preparing your volume.
New and recently published Camden volumes, 2020-22
Fellows and members of the Society may purchase print copies of these and other Camden titles for £16 per volume by emailing: administration@royalhistsoc.org.
NEW: Volume 64: The Diary of George Lloyd (1642-1718), edited by Daniel Patterson (November 2022).
Virtually unknown to scholarship, Lloyd’s diary is not a record of notable events. Rather, it is a uniquely quotidian text consisting of regular daily entries documenting the activities and experiences of an individual far removed from great events.
Lloyd’s diary will be an invaluable resource for scholars studying many aspects of early modern English social and cultural history, including sociality, fashion, religious observance, courtship, food and drink, and working life.
The Diary of George Lloyd, 1642-1718 is now available online and in print from Cambridge University Press.
NEW: Volume 63: Aristocracy, Democracy, and Dictatorship. The Political Papers of the Seventh Marquess of Londonderry, edited by N. C. Fleming (September 2022).
The seventh Marquess of Londonderry (1878–1949) corresponded with the leading political figures of his day, including Winston Churchill (his second cousin), Neville Chamberlain, Stanley Baldwin and Ramsay MacDonald. Londonderry’s amateur diplomacy in the 1930s meant that his regular correspondents also included Hermann Göring, Joachim von Ribbentrop and Franz von Papen.
Aristocracy, Democracy, and Dictatorship is now available online and in print from Cambridge University Press.
Volume 62: British Financial Diplomacy with North America 1944–1946. The Diary of Frederic Harmer and the Washington Reports of Robert Brand, edited by Michael F. Hopkins (2021)
Volume 61: Sir Earle Page’s British War Cabinet Diary, 1941–1942, edited by Kent Fedorowich and Jayne Gifford (2021)
Volume 60: The Letters and Reports of British Consular and Diplomatic Agents in Tripoli: 1792–1832, edited by Sara ElGaddari (2020)
Volume 59: The Papers of John Hatsell, Clerk of The House of Commons 1768 – 1820, edited by Peter J Aschenbrenner and Colin Lee (2020)
Full Series Lists
- Camden Fifth Series (volumes published from 1993 to the present)
- Camden Fourth Series (1969-1993)
- Camden Third Series (1900-1963)
- Camden New Series (1871-1901)
- Camden Old Series (1838-1872)
The Series was originally published by the Camden Society (established 1838) until its merger with the Royal Historical Society in 1897. The RHS Archive contains papers relating to the Camden Society, 1838-97.