Oxford's variorum edition of William Blackstone's seminal treatise on the common law of England and Wales offers the definitive account of the Commentaries' development in a modern format. For the first time it is possible to trace the evolution of English law and Blackstone's thought throughthe eight editions of Blackstone's lifetime, and the authorial corrections of the posthumous ninth edition. Introductions by the general editor and the volume editors set the Commentaries in their historical context, examining Blackstone's distinctive view of the common law, and editorial notesthroughout the four volumes assist the modern reader in understanding this key text in the Anglo-American common law tradition. Book I: Of the Rights of People covers the key topics of constitutional and public law. Blackstone's inaugural lecture "On the Study of the Law" introduces a series of general essays on the nature of law, including a chapter on "The Absolute Rights of Individuals". This is followed by an extendedaccount of England's political constitution. The various categories of people or subjects are then surveyed, with special attention to the rights and obligations of masters and servants, husbands and wives, parents and children, and lastly "artificial persons", or corporations. In addition to DavidLemmings' introduction to the volume, Book I includes an introduction from the General Editor Wilfrid Prest. | The Oxford Edition of Blackstone: Commentaries on the Laws of England by William Blackstone, Paperback | Indigo Chapters