Jeffrey Pulver wrote numerous works on music, including Paganini, the Romantic Virtuoso, and Aids to Elementary Violin Playing. This particular work seeks to rescue and herald the English history of music, and to elevate it to the status of music found in France, Italy and other European nations in particular. The focus of this work in the words of Pulver:

"The history of music in England, dealing with the five centuries that lie between the period which made the Reading rota possible and the death of Purcell, is a story of unimaginable fascination. Yet in spite of the labours of a few faithful workers who fought, with weak weapons, to win their merited place for the musicians of England in the affection and regard of their countrymen, it was only comparatively recently that we awoke to the fact that our musical history is as glorious a one as that possessed by any other country of Europe."