The Oxford Handbook of European Legal History by H Pihlajamäki, MD Dubber and M Godfrey (eds). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018, 1216 pp (£125 hardback). ISBN: 978-0-19-878522-1

Despite its structure around discrete time periods, the Handbook does not – and was not devised to –set out a single continuous chronological description of the development of legal scholarship in Europe. Its aim is, yes, to introduce the reader to the main legal developments at each stage, but also to challenge traditional ways of telling the story. This work is the first of such magnitude to take up this challenge and the result is very impressive. A case for departing from the traditional grand narratives or myths that still rule the teaching of ELH must provide an alternative way of telling the story that does not lose the reader or student along the way. This Handbook is particularly valuable where it finds, as it does in its early modern section, a structured path through modern scholarship, capable of setting a persuasive standard for textbook- and course-writers.