A Short History of the English People - Vol I By John Richard Green From the landing of Hengest, 449 To the Death of Elizabeth I, 1610. Milton's couplet from the Sonnet to Cromwell might well describe Green's monumental work, the aim of which is so aptly defined by its full title, A Short History of the English People. This story of our island race from the year 449 to 1960 concentrates, more on the generations that have made up the realm than on a chronicle of its kings and battles