This book is a tribute to Austin Woolrych and its appearance is timed to coincide with his eightieth birthday. Lesley le Claire gives an account of Austin Woolrych's life and achievement in the essay that follows this preface; and Sarah Coombs has co-ordinated the preparation of a bibliography of his writings that appears at the end of the book. The essays themselves were commissioned to represent one principle above all: Austin's rare gift of friendship; his ability quickly to communicate his own fundamental decency and kindness and to evoke deep feelings of loyalty and affection. Lesley le Claire evokes that gift below, but it is one with which all the contributors would wish to be associated. He is a generous host, a grateful guest, a warm and concerned friend. He is someone we all admire both as a person and as a scholar, and we feel privileged to be able to offer this tribute to him. Some of us are his former pupils – notably Colin Phillips and John Sutton who were his research students; others – John Reeve, John Adamson and Sarah Barber – had their doctorates examined by him and found in him someone who not only offered wonderfully clear and helpful advice on their theses but who remained keenly interested in their subsequent careers. Austin is a great traveler and many of the essays in this volume reflect the friendships he has made on his travels around the globe: Colin Davis and Glenn Burgess during lecture-cum-vacation trips to New Zealand, Barbara Taft and Barbara Donagan during visits to research libraries on the East and West coasts of North America, for example.