Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, edited by H.C.G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. 61 vols. 61,913p. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. 0-19-861411-X; 2004-5444. $13,000.

The original 66-volume Dictionary of National Biography (DNB) (Smith, Elder and Company, 1885-1901) was a monument to the efforts of three men: the unflagging financial support of publisher George Smith; the vision and high standards of the founding editor Leslie Stephen; and the tireless persistence of his assistant and successor Sidney Lee. Their pioneering work excluded living persons, emphasized the relationship of biography to history, and set high editorial standards for scholarship and accuracy. Their succinct but pithy writing would become the model for many reference works to come. Equally admired was the determined efficiency with which the massive, 18-year project was executed. Once publication began, the volumes appeared without interruption or delay in sequence on a quarterly basis for 16 years. Each volume improved upon its predecessor with ever higher standards of quality and accuracy. Before the appearance of the original DNB in 1885, biography in English was little more than a text for moral education. The DNB made biography an essential for the support of historical scholarship.

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography undoubtedly upholds this tradition of excellence. Published online and in 61 print volumes, the dictionary surveys the significant contributions of individuals to British history, from the earliest times to the end of the year 2000. The lives of 54,922 persons are documented in the 50,113 entries. Some 14 years in the making, the work was edited by the late Colin Matthew and Brian Harrison with the assistance of more than 10,000 contributors. Upon undertaking the revision and expansion of the century-old Dictionary of National Biography, Matthew decided that all of the 38,607 entries of original and its supplements would be revised or entirely re-written for new Oxford DNB. This editorial decision means that the standards of inclusion of the original greatly affect the coverage of the new edition. Nonetheless, another 16,315 new entries add substantially to the knowledge base established by the original and greatly expand the historical coverage of women, business, labor and science. While the focus remains the British Isles, prominent colonial figures are also featured.

Entries average about 1,100 words, but may be up to 35,000 word for particularly significant figures like Queen Victoria, Winston Churchill or Charles Dickens. As before, the salient features of an individual's life and work are sketched in a chronological fashion. Gone, however, are oblique references to scandals. Instead, royal affairs from George IV to Princess Diana are now chronicled in detail. So too are the missteps and passions of other leading lights. All entries contain up-to-date bibliographies, which frequently contain notices of primary and secondary sources, archival material and where to find likenesses. Overall, political, religious, literary and scholastic endeavors are the best illustrated, but the military, artistic, legal and medical professions are also well represented. Occasional entries explore the historical foundations of semi-mythical figures like King Arthur and Robin Hood. Entries on women have grown in number from 1,758 to 5,627, but still constitute barely 10% of the whole. Women figure prominently in the fields of literature, film, theater and education, but are most dominant in the area of social welfare and reform. A welcome change in this edition is the inclusion of more than 10,000 illustrations.

The Oxford DNB includes an index of contributors, but lacks any other index tool. With more than 60 million words of text, it is no surprise that the print edition lacks a general subject index. However, lists of rulers, prime ministers and other office holders would have been useful. Researchers of particular places or times could have used select lists of local notables or members of specific Parliaments. Also sorely missed by users of the print edition is an index of entries by profession, such as painter, printer or policeman.

These faults are more than made up for by the electronic version. The full-text searching of the database allows unprecedented access by name, place and topic. In addition to searching people, researchers can now quickly pursue such questions as the influence of the Luddite riots or who supported child labor reform. Searches for people can be limited by sex, dates, place, field of interest and religious affiliation. Images may be searched by artist, date, place or institution. The bibliographic references in every entry are also searchable and constitute a huge database for British history. Biographical entries can also be browsed alphabetically by name, contributor, and by birth or death dates. Group entries include not just families, but American Indians in England, the legendary footballers the Busby Babes, the Pre-Raphaelites, and the Cato Street Conspirators. A collection of essays and themes address such topics as Roman Britain, the Charge of the Light Brigade, holders of the Victoria Cross and Oscar winners.

Purchasers of the print edition receive access to the electronic edition for a period of one year. Thereafter, the electronic edition is available as a separate subscription. Institutional subscriptions are currently priced at $3,995 a year. Plans are to update the database with new entries three times a year. In fact, the electronic version already contains entries for individuals who died in 2001. These powerful features make the Oxford DNB a highly recommended resource for research collections. Like the original that has served scholars for more than a century, the new Oxford Dictionary of National Biography is an essential tool for historians that will stand the test of time.