In recent years there has been an explosion of interest in social history and in Women's Studies. Research has shed much light on the history of patriarchal attitudes and practices – not least in seventeenth-century England. The writings of Sir Robert Filmer are classic texts of seventeenth-century patriarchalist political thinking. Until now, the only modern edition of Filmer's political works has been Peter Laslett's. It was published in 1949 and has become quite a scarce book. The purpose of the present edition is to make Filmer's political works readily available.

Laslett's edition drew for the first time on the important Cambridge manuscript of Filmer's longest work, the Patriarcha. However, the text which Laslett printed contains a substantial number of mis-readings. For example, it gives the opening words of Patriarcha as ‘Within the last hundred years’ whereas the Cambridge manuscript in fact reads ‘Within this last hundred of years’, and similar errors occur throughout the book. Moreover, Laslett used only the Cambridge manuscript of Patriarcha. The present edition is based not just on that manuscript, but also on another important manuscript of Patriarcha at Chicago University Library. In the case of works other than Patriarcha, Laslett reprinted the text of the 1684 republication of Filmer's writings. The 1684 edition has no textual authority. This edition is based on manuscripts of sections of Filmer's Observations on Hobbes, Directions for Obedience and The Necessity of the Absolute Power of all Kings, and on the authoritative first printed editions of all of Filmer's writings, published in 1648 and 1652.