20 JUNE 1970, Page 20

Shorter notices The Great Debasement J. D. Gould (ow , 50s).

This is a•heroic effort to elucidate the immensely complex economic problems which arose late in Henry VIII's reign. There is much arcane information to be found in these pages; but the author's conclusion that during this first period the celebrated de- valuation of 1544 had more effect on internal prices than on overseas trade—the exact opposite of Harold Wilson's hew of his own episode—remains a hypothesis in a bitterly controverted area of study.

Medieval Drawings M. W. Evans (Paul Ham- lyn 50s). This elegant folio volume, with 132 excellent plates of drawings from the ninth to the fifteenth centuries, includes many old favourites but also a good proportion of less well known drawings well worth reproduc- tion. The editor, a member of the Warburg Institute staff, provides a short, clear and readable historical introduction, detailed descriptions of the drawings and a select bibliography.