This is the first book on the genesis, impact and reception of the most-widely read History of England of the early 18th century and its complementary works: Paul Rapin Thoyras' Histoire d'Angleterre 1724-27. It reconstructs how scholars pursued trustworthy knowledge amidst the shifting boundaries of the Republic of Letters; and shows that empirical history-writing, committed to erudition in the service of impartiality, coexisted with the histoire philosophique.