Mark Brayshay's Land Travel and Communications in Tudor and Stuart England covers a comprehensive range of themes relating to the subject of land travel and communication in Tudor and Stuart England, each of which have been individually studied by previous writers, including Brayshay himself. Specific chapters deal with the highway network, wayfinding and modes of travel (including walking and its value to the footwear industry), travel by ordinary citizens and the elite, and communication by messenger and post before and after 1635, the date when the government sanctioned the public use of its posting services. In this respect, Brayshay has produced a work of synthesis, one which offers a lucid and well-informed introduction to the subject. But it is not a mere pastiche of the work of others, as Brayshay has his own distinctive perspective, based on considerable archival research. This is the book to read if one wants an informative and wide-ranging overview, perhaps in preparation for research of a particular topic in the field. Apart from the breadth of approach, the incorporation of a good deal of primary source material invigorates the account and gives it added depth. The book's reach even extends beyond the bounds of its title to encompass travel abroad and the burgeoning posting and postal services in Europe and to and from the colonies.

Inevitably, Brayshay discusses some aspects of the subject in more detail than others, a reflection of his own research and interests. Thus, the book is particularly good on the development of the postal services over the course of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. As an historical geographer, Brayshay naturally likes to illustrate the establishment and expansion of the network in cartographic form, presenting the data in a series of informative and helpful maps. If any piece of evidence can be mapped, Brayshay maps it. Most of the maps are based on his own research, but when necessary he draws on the work of others. The geographical slant of the book is also revealed in the attention he gives to physical features such as roads, rivers, and bridges and to the discussion of wayfinding aids like signposts, road maps, and printed itineraries.

Nor does Brayshay ignore historical detail. He carefully assesses the impact of national legislation on travel and communications, while providing examples of the measures taken by local authorities to improve the situation in the area under their jurisdiction. Moreover, far from treating “travel” as an abstract concept, he places great emphasis on the people who used the roads, ranging from vagrants and paupers to magistrates, judges, and members of the landed elite and their servants, via suppliers, purchasers, and distributors of a range of goods and services; messengers, soldiers, clergymen, and officials; and even peripatetic entertainers. In doing so, he illuminates the real experience of travelers on the road. If the information varies in depth and is occasionally derivative, it does humanize the account and offers a wealth of illustrative material. Similarly, the inclusion of prices and costs—carrier rates, the cost of hiring horses, the price of fodder and diet, and the wages of postal officials (not always paid in full), for instance—provides readers with evidence for their own work. In spite of spending years researching aspects of the subject, I still found new and useful information in the book.

Does the book succeed in its declared aim of proving that developments in transport and communications in Tudor and Stuart times made England a “joined-up” realm? It certainly knocks down the Aunt Sally of impassable roads and the virtual cessation of wheeled transport and trade in winter time in parts of the country. But we already knew this to be untrue. More positively, it shows the progress that was being made in linking all parts of the country together, especially though the provision of a truly national posting and postal service. Carrier and coaching services also proliferated, although they receive less attention in the text and are not fully followed through to the end of the period. Here, Brayshay is more dependent upon other authors. In general, too, his main focus is on the earlier part of the period: the reign of Elizabeth and, to a lesser extent, those of her successors, James I and Charles I. Most of his examples are drawn from the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. This is reflected in his rather static view of the conduct of business at markets and fairs, for instance. Moreover, while he does include illustrative material from all parts of the country, thereby indicating that the developments affected the whole nation, a southwestern bias is discernible in his examples. Devon and Plymouth are heavily featured here.

To sum up, this is a well-produced book that deals with the subject in the round and successfully integrates primary research with the secondary literature. Indeed, it offers a surprising amount of anecdotal detail, culled from contemporary documents. The narrative, moreover, is embellished with a plethora of maps, diagrams, images, and photographs, while numerous tables display statistical information in easily digestible form. This book should, therefore, appeal to the general reader, who wants to read more than a superficial account of the subject, as well as to the committed researcher.