The lives of the outstanding scholars celebrated in the volume often reveal unexpected personal and professional backgrounds. Taken together they build up a picture of the development of Britain's intellectual life.

The Fellows of the British Academy who are remembered in this volume are:

Kenneth Andrews, Anthony Blunt, Marjorie Chibnall, Stanley Cohen, Patrick Collinson, Barrie Dobson, John Ehrman, Richard Ellmann, Christopher Evans, Philip Ford, John Hajnal, Emrys Jones, Martyn Jope, Ian Little, Alan S. Milward, Robin Nisbet, Jack Pole, Graham Reynolds, Tom Torrance, Reg Ward.

Their scholarship ranged over the humanities and social science disciplines, including subjects as diverse as: medieval history, statistics, theology, French literature, sociology, art history and archaeology.